Forever Branded by Fire
by The Light's Refrain
Summary: Just one screwup. Just one screwup was all that it took to make Takuya different from all his other friends. He may not be able to change it, but he can still pretend for now, right? But such bravery could lead to blindness. Slight Takumi. COMPLETE AND REVISED
1. Reversed Psychology

_Yeah, just what I need right now: another Digimon fic XD. This story is focused on the Legendary Warriors, particularly Takuya. It's been about a year since Frontier's events._

_Those of you looking for fights, look elsewhere. This is mostly angst, drama, and some mindscrews here and there. Also, no yaoi is present in this fic. The only trace of a coupling is Takumi, but it's more fluff than any real romance._

_Impulse fic...that somehow turned out much better than expected XD_

_Revision notes: Replaced Kouji's and Kouichi's conversation with a different conversation between Kouji and Takuya. Not only was the first conversation not that great, but it was filled with errors about Kouji and Kouichi's family relations. Bleh, can never keep those twins' parents straight...probably the only part in this fic that seriously changed during revision. Everything else is added details and corrected errors. Oh, and the name Koji has been changed to the more accurate spelling of Kouji._

_Disclaimer: If I owned Digimon...hmm, wouldn't that be interesting?_

_Story Time _

"_Well, I never thought I'd end up here, never_

_Thought I'd be standing where I am."_

Lifehouse, "Sick Cycle Carousel"

**Data Set 1: It's Just Not the Same**

"Get back here!"

A chubby boy with a blue shirt, a dark green vest, and chocolate eyes charged after a small boy. This emerald-eyed youngster had on a mushroom-shaped hat, along with a green shirt that had a white star on it. The young boy possessed a lunch box with a bunch of bug stickers plastered on it.

"You gotta catch me first, JP!" the short boy cried.

Sitting nearby on a red blanket spread out on the ground was a girl with a lavender hat, lengthy blonde hair, and green eyes. Right then she was unpacking the old picnic basket that she had brought with her, seeming to summon an endless supply of food from it. Beside her were some fashion magazines she had been reading while she was waiting for the boys to arrive. She smirked at the scene unfolding before her.

On a bench in this flourishing park was a dark-haired boy, a pile of schoolbooks sitting next to him. This sapphire-eyed boy wore a white shirt with black tiger stripes on it, as well as bleached jeans. Right then he was too busy hurriedly scribbling something down on paper to notice the chaotic chase occurring nearby. At the right corner of the paper was the name _Kouichi._

"C'mon, really Tommy..." the chubby boy moaned, beginning to fall behind.

Not far off was another sapphire-eyed, dark-haired boy, this one wearing a black bandana with crimson trimming. His black mane was much longer than the other boy's, and was tied into a long ponytail. He leaned against one of the numerous trees in the area, seeming more annoyed than amused at the pursuit before him. It wasn't so much that he was a cranky person; he just wanted to eat already. He hadn't eaten anything since this morning, and the little picnic his female friend was having couldn't start until those two settled down.

"Just be patient, Kouji," the dark-haired boy known as Kouichi stated, his eyes still on the paper he was working on.

"I know..."

And up in another tree, staring up into the perfect sky, was a brunette boy. On his head was a baseball cap with a deep purple hue, with a sleeveless shirt that matched. On of his legs was dangling carelessly off the branch he was sitting on, rocking gently to and fro. He had warm brown eyes.

Growing weary of the chase scene, the blonde girl with the lavender cap decided to put an end to it.

"TAKUYA! JP! TOMMY! KOUJI! KOUICHI!" she yelled, setting out the final apples. "FOOD!"

At the resonance of the word the teenage boys seemed to forget everything else and rush to the pile of goodies awaiting them.

That is, all except one.

"TAKUYA!" the blonde barked at the teen in the sleeveless shirt, his gaze still set on the heavens. _"TAKUYA KANBARA!"_

The brunette snapped out of his self-induced trance. "Huh?"

"FOOD!"

"Oh...okay," the boy known as Takuya replied somewhat quietly, slipping down the tree effortlessly. He strolled calmly to the picnic, where already food was being devoured by the other males. Scanning the table, he picked out a single piece of chicken leg and began to chew on it.

"Something wrong?" the blonde asked, cocking her head to one side a little.

"Of course not, Zoë," the brunette replied, a wide grin suddenly breaking out on his face.

Kouji stopped his rapid consumption to look at the boy with the purple baseball cap. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah!" Takuya replied cheerily. "And I should be the one to know right?"

The black haired boy just rolled his sapphire eyes at this comment.

Before Kouji could continue, Takuya was tearing meat off his chicken leg savagely.

Zoë sighed and decided that she should try to get some food before these hormone-raged beasts ate it all up. When technically she'd be a hormone-raged beast too, but...well, at least she was a girl, right? That had to count for _something_.

A few minutes later, somebody said something so outrageous to JP that the milk he was drinking squirted out of his nose…and all over Kouji. Needless to say, the bandana-wearing teen was not amused. For everyone else, though, it was hilarious.

Naturally, Takuya's laughter danced with everyone else's. That was just the kind of guy he was, as far as the others were concerned. Was, is, and always will be. If the laughter wasn't quite so loud, or if his friends had listened a little harder, they might have noticed that his laughter didn't quite have the heart of the others.

This cocktail of laughter didn't have a chance to die down before Kouji decided to spill the remaining milk all over JP's head. The chubby boy's reply to this was a handful of mash potatoes in the face. After that, pure chaos ensued.

Edibles became quite effective missiles as all the teens joined in on the fight. Globs of jelly, butter, and carrots went flying through the air, often colliding with unintended targets. A speeding peanut butter sandwich slammed into the face of Takuya, who soon after fired a barrage of grapes at Kouji. Instead of hitting his attacker, he managed to nail Zoë with them instead. The result: the brunette found himself drenched with a bowl of fruit punch. He did manage to get black-haired boy in the end though; Kouji found himself getting whacked by a rogue chicken wing.

The laughter roared on, as Takuya began an ever-distinguished celery sword match between himself and JP. Yet in the midst of this happy chaos, he couldn't help but think...

_If only it could stay like this._

"Aw no, look at my shirt!" Zoë whined.

Her pale yellow T-Shirt was now splotched with various hues of jelly. Her pale jeans weren't in much better shape, with mashed potatoes and peanut butter smeared all over them. She remained blissfully unaware of the streaks of strawberry ice cream running across her forehead.

"And these were new too!" the blonde continued to complain, holding her head and discovering the edible pink substance smudged on the upper part of her face. "I so need a bath. If you guys got any weird gunk in my hair, you are so screwed tomorrow!"

The others didn't think her clothes were that messy, at least, not compared to theirs. They had gotten a wee bit more involved in the food fight, and it showed. It was almost impossible to tell what the real colors of their outfits were now. Kouji coughed a couple of times while Kouichi rubbed his forehead.

"Hey, it ain't so bad," Takuya stated lightheartedly. "Least yours aren't as bad as mine. I could probably stick these into the microwave and eat 'em if I wanted to."

"EW! Takuya!" the green-eyed girl replied.

There was a brief eruption of laughter.

"Come on guys, we better get going," JP insisted, looking at the sky and rubbing his shoulder while little Tommy shivered. "It'll be getting dark soon."

"Yeah, you're right," Kouji replied, taking a brief glance at the heavens. "Let's go, bro."

"Allright," Kouichi answered quietly, beginning to follow him.

"Well, see you guys later, I guess," Takuya responded, starting to wander off.

"Bye!"

"Later!"

"Farewell!"

"Cya!"

"Chow!"

After the shower of goodbyes, each of them went their separate ways.

Takuya found himself lying in bed, staring at the blank ceiling of his room. Various posters dotted the room, mostly of his favorite rock bands. Scattered on the old desk against the wall was a jumble of CDs, a packet full of pictures with his friends doing mostly stupid things, and some old homework papers that would never get themselves done. Old socks and soccer magazines mingled with each other around his bed. In the farthest corner of the room was an old CD player, currently orchestrating the melody of _We've Got a Problem _by Korn.

He could hear an especially loud shriek of laughter ever now and then over his rather loud music. His little brother Shinya had just invited over a bunch of friends to play all kinds of cool videogames on his awesome system. Well, technically it was _his_ awesome system, but his parents had given the goggle-wearing brunette no choice but to share. So as of tonight, he, the older brother, was officially banned from his own videogames. Stupid siblings...

He was reaching for one of his sports magazines on the red-carpeted floor when the light above him began to flicker violently. The CD player began to stutter and phase in and out, but not because of old age. Through the quiet moments, the boy with the purple baseball cap could hear his brother whining about the TV not working right.

_Crap_

Takuya jerked up into a sitting position at once, as he felt the power surge through him.

_No...no..._

He gripped at his abdomen, hunching forward. His body began to pulse with golden light.

_I don't want to change! Not here...not with all my brother's friends over... _

The glow intensified, now causing him to emit light steadily. There was that burning sensation inside of him, the one he was so familiar with.

_I just want to be myself! I don't want to be anyone else!_

The power continued to gush through him, continued to escalate.

_I don't want to change! What is so wrong about that?_

_Because it is your punishment. Your punishment for being unworthy_

Yes, yes, he knew that. It was because he had been a coward, because he had completely disregarded the others. But that was just one time, just one time...

_But you still did it. You still gave in_

Yeah...that was true...but still, he knew better now, right?

_Leaders can't make those kinds of mistakes. It was because of that mistake that this happened._

A sharp pain shot down his spine, causing him to yelp.

_Dammit, I know. But...no I won't let it happen! If I let it happen..._

_But it will happen. You know that._

_Yeah, I know! But it ain't gonna happen yet!_

The power within him receded, letting the yellow light fade away. He blew a sigh of relief as he plopped back down on the bed.

He was drenched in sweat, he was sure. That's what usually happened. Now his body ached all over, barely containing the light inside of him. He pulled the covers over him, more than ready to take a nap.

_I really should just go to the Digital World and get this over with_

Sleepiness was steadily overcoming him. He felt a heaviness settle on him, a hot heaviness.

_After all, it's not like I won't have my friends after this..._

His eyes closed without him noticing, as he continued to wander inside himself. The heat of the heaviness was reassuring to him, somehow, even though he couldn't move.

_But still...I'm scared. Once it's done, it's done. That's it. I can't go back, not really. I mean, there might be some kind of fluke, but it wouldn't last very long..._

As the blackness numbed his mind, among his last rational thoughts were...

_Once it happens, I won't be able to pretend anymore. And I want to pretend for as long as I can..._

_IIIIII_

_Well, I hope you liked it. If you're confused, that's fine too XP. Theories are welcome, but I won't tell you if they're true or not._

_Please tell me what you think._


	2. Hiding Behind Other's Truths

_First of all, I'm sorry l haven't updated this sooner. Usually I update new stories faster than this XP. Also, this chapter's kinda short. However, the real plot should pick up in the next chapter._

_Revision Notes: First, the conversation between Kouji and Takuya that I mentioned last chapter actually happens this chapter. Second, I removed the last part of this chapter because it was stupid and unnecessary. Those are my biggest edits overall._

_Disclaimer: Yes, I own Digimon. I also own the world (sarcasm). Nope, it ain't mine._

**Data Set 2: It's All in the Details **

"Takuya, it's _fine_."

The gogglehead was currently scurrying around their team project for science class. Their mission: to create a model of the solar system. The mock-up consisted of painted styrofoam spheres connected by sturdy metal wires.

"No, it's not!" Takuya protested, fiddling with it. "Jupiter should be up here, and Pluto's not supposed to be way down there. And Mercury-"

"Takuya..." Kouji growled.

The baseball-cap-bearer brunette ignored the bandana-head and continued to refine their little solar system, murmuring to himself.

"Come on, let's turn this in," Kouji stated flatly, picking up the project and carrying it away from his picky partner.

"Hey, I wasn't done with it!"

"You are now."

Before Takuya could protest anymore, the teacher took up their project and locked it up with all the others.

Kouji had just sat down again when the bell's ringing resonated throughout the school.

"See you later, class."

The students murmured goodbye as they scampered out the door.

As Kouji and Takuya entered the hallway, they were soon greeted by an exasperated Zoë.

"Oh my god I don't believe her!" the green-eyed girl ranted as soon as she reached the two boys. "That Ms. Kamiya! You won't believe what she did to us today!"

Kouji sighed and seemed quite disinterested in the subject.

Takuya, on the other hand, made himself look fascinated.

"What?" they both asked at the same time, with contrasting levels of excitement.

"She gave us this huge book report to do on _Call of the Wild_. She said we needed to do at least two pages. TWO PAGES! And she gave us until next Friday to read the book! I'll never get it done by then!"

"You're kidding!" Takuya exclaimed. 'Well, you could always write real big and have about five words per page. That way you only have to write ten words."

"Takuya, you're so stupid," Zoë teased

"I know," the boy with warm brown eyes replied with a big grin. 

It surprised him, how easily his friends assumed things. You would think that traveling through the Digital World would've done more for their perception. Still, it was convenient. He didn't really want them to see through his facade anyway.

"Hey guys!"

The trio of retired Legendary Warriors stopped to wait on chubby JP and pale Kouichi.

"Yo!" Takuya greeted loudly.

"I see you survived 2nd period," Kouji joked as his twin came by his side.

"Just barely," Kouichi groaned. "I swear, that teacher is out to get me. It doesn't help that I keep getting lost trying to get to his class and I keep on forgetting the lessons."

"Mr. Samuels is out to get _everybody_," Takuya chimed in. "I'm surprised I haven't flunked his class."

"What're you talking about? You get nothing but A's!" Kouji replied.

"Yeah, but he lost two of the assignments I gave him!" Takuya whined. "I had to completely redo them!"

"Missing two assignments doesn't flunk you," Kouji responded. "Takuya, I swear..."

"GET TO YOUR CLASSES RIGHT NOW!" screeched a short old crone that happened to be a hall monitor.

All of them jumped.

"Um, r-right," Zoë answered a little shakily. "Come on, let's go eat!"

The others nodded in unison while dashing off to the cafeteria.

Two of the gang that had once been half-Digimon gathered around their circular table. Twenty minutes had passed: five to get to lunch, fifteen to get through the line. In fact, the other three were _still_ in line, since Mr. Motomiya the janitor was arguing with the lunch lady. Tommy, of course, was too young for high school, and therefore not present. Still, it was rather lucky for them that they happened to all have the same lunch. None of their other friends were present, and that would've made their mealtimes more than a little dull.

Takuya was just setting his tray on the table, full of meat and hot sauce packets, when Kouji arrived. His meal had even more meat than the gogglehead boy's did. The sapphire-eyed boy looked somber

"Hey, what's up?" asked the child with warm brown eyes, drenching a piece of pork with some of his hot sauce. "You're still not mad about me trying to fix the project, are you?"

"…No, it's not that," mumbled the bandana boy, taking a bite out of his chicken strip. "It's Kouichi."

"What about him?" asked Takuya, cocking his head slightly to the side. Usually the twins had no problems getting along.

"Well, it's just…" the dark-haired child began, coughing a couple of times. "For the past few months Kouichi's been doing poorly in his classes. I've been tutoring him and helping him out with his homework, but nothing seems to stick."

"Maybe he just needs a break," the boy with warm brown eyes suggested. "I mean, he's a smart kid, but all the classwork and homework is getting pretty hectic with the exams coming up. Maybe he's freaking out over that."

"Maybe…" Kouji answered, turning a drumstick in his hand. "He's been complaining about headaches lately…that worries me more than anything else. What if he hit his head during that fall down the stairs back harder than we thought? I mean, it nearly…"

"But that was almost a year ago," pointed out Takuya, gobbling up some hot-sauced ham before continuing. "If it had some kind of permanent side-effect on his brain, it would've shown up soon after he woke up, not several months later, right?"

"…Yeah, you're right," answered Kouji, giving Takuya a faint smile.

The topic was abandoned as the twin brother of conversation walked over to the table, Zoë alongside him. The shorter-haired boy had a plentiful lunch of meats, with three cartons of milk on the side. The green-eyed girl, on the other hair, had apples, bananas, and sunflower seeds on her tray.

"Hi!" the blonde greeted cheerfully, sitting between Kouji and Takuya. Kouichi sat down quietly beside the other side of his bandana-bearing sibling, smiling mildly. 

"Hiya Zoë!" Takuya chirped back, as the sapphire-eyed twins quickly said hello back and continued on with their discussion. "So, your aunt feeling any better?"

"No...Not really..." Zoë answered, her chipper look fading somewhat. "She has to take a bunch of new medicines now."

"Oh..." Takuya answered, quietly.

_Stupid_, he thought. _That was so stupid, bringing that up._

He had only met this aunt of hers a few times, but he felt like he had seen her far longer than that. She'd always sneak he and his friends some random treat. Sometimes he saw her taking a jog through the town, as she often did. Her sudden illness changed all that, though. "But taking all that stuff should help her get better, right?"

"I dunno..." Zoë responded, poking at her peas with a plastic fork. "The doctors say that the drugs are just delaying the effects of the illness."

"Oh..." Takuya stated. "But there's always that chance she'll get better, right?"

Zoë smiled just a little. "Yeah. We'll be visiting her later."

"That's good."

"Speaking of problems," the green-eyed girl started to say, turning her gaze to the approaching JP. "Has your dad found a new job yet?"

"No..." the chubby child sighed, carrying a tray loaded with odd things even Takuya would never consider consuming himself. "He's still searching for work and waiting for replies...says it might be awhile before he gets any...oh well, I've been meaning to get a job anyway."

'What about your mom?" Takuya asked. 

"Still got the job at the flea market," the chocolate-eyed boy answered. "She's looking for other stuff, but hasn't found anything."

Takuya pretended not to notice, but he knew this translated to JP spending a lot of time alone in his own house, while his parents searched for work.

"What kind of job?" Zoë asked.

"I dunno, anything," the caramel-haired boy replied, shrugging. "A fast food place wouldn't be so bad though."

"C'mon, you're just starting to lose weight," Takuya teased.

"Hey!"

As his mouth went on autopilot and began babbling on about something random, his mind drifted to the youngest of the now fully human heroes. Tommy had only recently gone back to school because of a terrible car accident that had taken his mother's life. He had been in mourning ever since. Yesterday's picnic was really created to distract him from his sorrow, and it had been quite successful. The baseball-hat wearing brunette couldn't help but wonder how he was faring. Nowadays all the youngster seemed to do was sleep.

_Everyone has their own problems to deal with. They're barely able handle them as it is. I have no business burdening them with my own._

He wasn't sure what he said, but whatever it was Kouichi and Kouji found hilarious. The others burst out laughing as well, and he laughed with them automatically.

_They rely on me to be the person that helps them forget their problems, if only for a little while. That's the only me they know. That's the only me I want them to know_.

The table became filled with mindless chatter, kept alive by Takuya's infectious optimism.

_Kouichi's having problems in school that Kouji's trying to help him out with, Zoë has a dying aunt, JP's parents barely have enough money to live on, and Tommy's mother is dead. My problems are nothing compared to those. It's not like I'm gonna die from my problems. Sure, I'd rather not have them, but they were my fault anyway, so I should be the only one who has to deal with them._

_I'm the one who has to support them through their hard times. I'm the one who has to cheer everyone up when they're down. I'm the one who holds the group together. I'm the one who everyone relies on._

_I am the leader. And leaders can't make mistakes_.

IIIIII

_Not the greatest chapter. Oh well. I hope things aren't too obvious… The Straight-A Takuya thing probably sounds strange especially since it's kinda rushed, but it'll be better explained later on._

_Now, for reviews:_

_**Loke Groundrunner**__: Glad you like it. That lion-like Digimon is called Flamemon (or Flamon, depending on which names you use)_

_**Simply just being:**__ Your story The Photo is awesome too ;)_

_Well, I guess you'll just have to find out XP._


	3. Bittersweet Times, Past and Present

_Hi, I'm back, taking my time delivering chapters to you XP. This one's kinda short, but that's because it's mostly setting things up for the rest of the story. Not the greatest chapter, but oh well. There's just a tiny bit of action in there. _

_Revision Notes: Removed the whole "book as an armor item" explanation because it didn't fit in later on in the story. Otherwise it's just tidying things up._

_Disclaimer: If I owned all this stuff I wrote fanfictions for, I wouldn't be able to keep 'em, straight _

**Data Set 3: The More Things Change…**

Deep in the park, concealed in the woodier area, was an old shed. It was overgrown by ivy and weeds, making it much more ancient than it seemed. An old black gate was put across the entrance, but it had become quite rusty over the past couple of years due to lack of contact with humans.

It was here that the ones who were once possessed by Spirits of Digimon gathered, called by an email from old friends.

Kouji led the group, easily pushing the gateway out of their path. It was surprising that the aging gate didn't break from the force. With that feeble obstruction out of the way, nothing stood between them and the inside of the forgotten structure.

The interior was just as wild as the outside. Lush grasses grew wherever the light outside could caress the ground. Thin vines laced the walls of the tiny building, some bearing flowers.

But the former Legendary Warriors paid no attention to these organic beauties, hardly even noticing them. Instead, they were more interested in a roughly dug tunnel of fair size at the far end of this lost shelter. Since none of the sun's rays were able to reach that area, it remained lifeless and a deep brown hue.

And yet, light was shining from deep within this tunnel. It was a cold light, so it did no good to any seeds that hoped to grow within the soil nearby. Sometimes a few peculiar fragments could be seen floating in the air into this tunnel, lasting only for a few moments before they dissolved.

"So...who's gonna go get them?" asked Zoë.

Takuya, leaning against the rim of the opening, kept his silence. He was stomping his feet some, first one, then the other, though trying not to make it too loud. It did nothing to stop the numbness creeping up his legs, however. He looked down to a small puddle near his feet. A boy with somber brown eyes looked back up at him.

"I'll go get them!" Tommy announced cheerfully, flipping his scarf out of the way. Though it was a fair day outside, the emerald-eyed boy was swathed in a thick brown coat and tan-and-red mittens.

But before he could rush in, an unusual buzzing sound was heard from the end of the tunnel. Talking and chatter could be heard.

The first one to emerge wasn't too much bigger than Tommy himself. It was a dog with golden fur, purple floppy ears, and a somewhat goofy grin on his face. A white 'D' was imprinted on his chest. The other one, however, was considerably larger, especially lengthwise. It was a giant pig, with bright orange fur. The area around its neck, hooves, and tail were burning with a fierce flame. A small metal plate was in the middle of its blackened face, and red-and-black-striped tusks protruded from its mouth.

The others were in a stunned silence for a few moments, but then erupted into excitement.

"Hey, you guys digivolved on us!" Takuya exclaimed. He stayed towards the back, but was ecstatic to see his old friends anyway.

"Guess we can't call you guys Bokomon and Neemon anymore," JP stated. "What are your names now anyway?"

"I am Boarmon," the flaming swine replied, bowing his head a little. "I used to be Bokomon."

"And I'm Doggymon!" the yellow canine replied in a hyper state, his purple tail wagging rapidly. "Neemon went bye-bye!"

Something about those innocent words sent a chill down the baseball-capped brunette's spine.

"Man, I had no idea that you guys were old enough to digivolve naturally," Kouji stated, kneeling down to get a better look at the bipedal canine.

"Well we were!" chirped the golden dog.

While all the other teens crowded around the newcomers, Takuya stayed where he was. It wasn't like he wanted to be rude or anything, or that his feet were bothering him too much for him to walk. The truth was he was worried about getting any closer. Not to his friends, but what waited not so far away. As far as he knew, a few steps forward and he could-

"Something wrong?"

Takuya jumped a little, and then looked down to Doggymon, who had a curious look on his face. Not far off, Boarmon was bragging to the others about his new power.

Takuya simply smiled and petted the canine on the head.

"Nah. Nothing at all," he reassured. "Hey, where's Patamon at?"

Boarmon paused. "Now that I think of it, I think he was taking a nap. But he might be up now. Let me go get him."

The living barbeque had taken only a few steps before that odd buzzing sound was heard again.

"Hmm?"

Only some seconds later, a small orange mammal with bat ears zipped from the tunnel, and ended up crashing into JP's stomach. Luckily, his abdomen made a good cushion to soften the impact. The little creature landed on the grassy ground, a bit dazed.

"Hey Patamon," JP greeted, chuckling.

But Patamon did not return the salutation when he came back to his senses. Instead, he immediately shot back up, glancing left and right hurriedly. In fact, he didn't seem to notice that the others were there.

"What's the matter?" Doggymon asked.

"Is he gone?" the tiny bat-eared creature asked.

"Who's he?" asked Kouji.

The former Warrior of Light was answered by a low growl.

A shadow was seen emerging from the tunnel. It wasn't a particularly big figure; in fact, it may have been half the height of the children at most. However, those harrowing emerald eyes that he had were enough to strike fear into anyone of any size.

As its scaly body entered the natural light, it was clear that this was a dinosaur-based creature; a tiny T-Rex, to be precise. It only consisted of one color: orange. Sharp white claws on its hands and feet glistened in the sunbeams. Those piercing green eyes narrowed as light unknown to it entered its vision.

"It's an Agumon," JP breathed. Patamon cowered behind his large body, his ears drooped and his little body quivering.

Slightly hunched over, it leaned forward just slightly and flared its nostrils, to gather some information about this strange place. After a few seconds it snorted, causing some embers to fly out its nose.

Finally it noticed it wasn't alone. It turned its head towards the teens and their Digimon friends. It sniffed a few times, and then narrowed its eyes again, growling much louder than before.

"Uh, guys," Takuya stated. "We got a problem."

"Pepper Breath!"

The Agumon spat out a diminutive orange fireball from its mouth that headed straight for JP and Patamon.

"Whoa!" the chubby teen shouted, leaping out of the way. The flame collided with the aged stone wall, blasting a smoldering hole in it.

Smoke still spewing from its nostrils, the toy-size dinosaur fired another blast, this time at Tommy.

"Wah!" the boy with the mushroom hat exclaimed, also hastily evading the attack. This fireball smashed into the guardrail just outside, melting it to a lump of steaming black metal.

"What do you think you're doing, barging into the human world and attacking everything in sight?!" Boarmon bellowed, letting out an angry squeal. "Snout Blaster!"

Forcefully blowing out his nose, two red fireballs shot forth and slammed into the Agumon. It might not have been the most graceful attack, but it was quite effective.

The Agumon cried out as the fireballs knocked it backwards. When it regained its footing, it once again began to snarl, baring its ferocious teeth.

"Ultra Bite!" Doggymon shouted, rushing towards the Rookie Digimon with his mouth ready to chomp down on its prey.

The small reptile fired another Pepper Breath at the yellow canine, stunning him briefly. Swiftly and without even looking back, the Agumon leapt through the hole created from his missed attack earlier and dashed into the foliage.

"Oh, that's just great," Kouji mumbled. "Just what we need running around loose. A crazy Agumon."

"We'll go track him down," Boarmon reassured. "Both of us have great senses of smell, so it shouldn't take us long."

"Yeah, you guys better get back," Doggymon added.

"But we gotta find that Digimon before it hurts someone!" Takuya exclaimed.

"Yes, we know that," Boarmon replied. "But also remember that you don't have your powers right now. If that Agumon corners you, he'll turn you into human flambé in a matter of seconds."

"I know..." the boy with warm brown eyes replied. "But it doesn't feel right not doing anything."

"Don't worry about it," Doggymon answered. "It's just a Rookie, we can handle it."

"Yeah, guess you're right," Takuya smirked. A Rookie didn't stand much of a chance against a Champion and an Armor.

"What about Patamon though?" JP asked, holding up the tiny bat-eared creature that was still shaking.

"Well...it's probably best that he stays with you guys for a while," the flaming pig decided. "Just don't get into too much trouble, okay?"

"Kay," Patamon answered, nodding.

"Well, see ya!" Doggymon called out, zipping into the woody area. Boarmon followed his yellow canine friend out of sight.

Takuya turned to the others.

"C'mon, let's get back before anything else happens."

_Don't really care for Neemon and Bokomon, but they've turned out to be quite needed in this story. To make them useful, I digivolved them. _

_Now, for reviews:_

_**Loke GroundRunner: **__Glad you still enjoyed it, and I hoped you like this chapter too. And you're welcome! _

_**midnightdothack: **__Ah yes, glad you think that. Cause the truth is, no matter how great a writer you are, if you use someone else's character, they will always be at least a little OOC. You should try to keep them fairly in character though, unless the situation calls for them to be OOC. And I'm not necessarily referring to fluff either; you can do that fairly in character if you do it right._

_**Asheron Karuma:**__ I'm honored to hear that this story's on your favorite's list. Yes, Takuya isn't the type to bother someone when they've got problems of their own, unless he feels like annoying them for some reason. Those leaders are always stubborn about things like that XP. And yeah, this is kind of a side project I'm doing, so I'm taking my time to write it._

_Everyone else: I'm happy to see that so many people checked out the last chapter. Hope to see you next time! _


	4. You Can't Run Away Anymore

_Hey, I'm here with another chapter. This is the first turning point of the fic, kinda, so now things are gonna start getting real interesting. Some questions are answered here, some are not, and some answers bring up new questions XP. This chapter's kinda short, I think, but it gets straight to the point._

_Revision Notes: Combined a couple of chapters here, so this chapter is longer now and I think there's a random extra scene added in somewhere. Otherwise it's just the usual touch-ups. _

_Disclaimer: If I owned Digimon…well, for starters, if Digimon didn't exist beforehand, then I wouldn't be inspired by the TV show, which would mean it would ever exist at all...In short: no, I don't own Digimon. _

**Data Set 4: ****When the Dam Breaks**

"Dammit, hope they find that thing soon."

Takuya jogged at a steady pace on the sidewalk, his warm brown eyes darting around him just in case a fireball suddenly shot out of nowhere. Their encounter with the rogue Agumon had taken place the day before, and Boarmon and Doggymon still hadn't found him yet. Though he held nothing against his Digimon friends, this fact continued to baffle him. I mean, how hard could it be to find a dinosaur? They weren't exactly native wildlife to these parts.

To the right of him was the street, a rather calm road that only had the occasional car or truck lazily gliding by. Just on the other side of the road was a string of comfy houses, one looking not so different than any of the others. The grasses were clipped neatly, as usual, and he saw no one outside, with the exception of a young blonde man with starling blue eyes that was studying a map of the area. But even the obviously foreign stranger was soon gone, disappearing around the corner of the street without so much as a glance in his direction.

This was a private, somewhat paranoid neighborhood he was in, and the absence of people casually walking down the sidewalk, or otherwise out taking advantage of this beautiful day, made him feel somewhat out of place. This area was too perfectly groomed, too robotic, and seemed more programmed than the Digital World itself.

Then again, since when did the Digital World seem programmed to him? Everything there was random, with no guidelines at all. Whatever guidelines that had been there were broken long before he and his friends came and left. It was the Digimon, and occasional glitch, that determined its fate, not a code.

And yet here was a place that seemed straight out of a programmer's plans, running just how it should, no exceptions. If he hadn't been sure it was the real world, he'd thought he was in some kind of virtual environment. How ironic, when data seems more real than matter.

To his left a vivid and tangled wood began only a few feet from the sidewalk. It was overflowing with trees of all kinds, and well as animal beings sheltered by its branches and leaves. He couldn't see the creatures, but he knew they were there. Sometimes he heard a twig snap, or a nameless bird suddenly burst out in lively song. Other times he heard insects chirping, or heard a croak from somewhere in the darkness that the forest had created to protect its inhabitants.

It was that darkness that obscured his view in the woods. He could only see so far into the palace of trees before the blackness abruptly cut off all sight. In that darkness were many living organisms, hiding from the strange noises produced by the man's world just beyond. Outsiders not welcome.

And what was he doing, caught between these polar opposites? Training, of course. Training for that big game coming up in a few days. Training, so that could face it head on. Training, so he wouldn't let his team down. Training, so that he could hear his family and friends cheering him on, letting them forget their problems for the duration of the game. Training, to shut his brain off for the time being, so that he didn't have to think, didn't have to remember.

He didn't care that his legs hurt from all the running. He'd been through worse; all the others had been through worse. He could handle it. He'd have it handle it; everyone was counting on him.

Suddenly Takuya heard a shattering sound. All around him, pieces of glass rained down around him, fragmenting further as they crashed into the oblivious cement. Amazingly, not one shard even dared to touch the boy with the purple baseball cap.

"Huh?"

Looking up, he saw he was right under a tall lamplight. The protective glass had been smashed, and the fluorescent bulb inside broken, but it glowed with a furious light, occasionally spitting out a few electric sparks up into the air in some random direction.

He cringed as he felt that power rush through him, again.

_Why is it that the electronics know what's gonna happen before I do?_

Clutching his stomach with one hand, he staggered into the woods, slipping away into its haven of shadows. He let himself sink down onto his knees to rest, so he could focus his strength on making it go away. Worried that someone might see the light that was beginning to emit from his body, he scooted behind a rather large tree so maybe he wouldn't be noticed.

_Leave me alone, dammit!_

The pulsing of the light that clung to him only became more defiant, becoming stronger and stronger, brighter and brighter. He was clutching both his sides now.

_I just want to be myself..._

The throbbing in his limbs paid no heed to him.

_I don't want to..._

A scream erupted from his lungs as a new wave of power ripped through him. The light stopped pulsing; instead it was becoming a constant cocoon around his body.

It took him only a few moments to realize it.

It wasn't going to stop this time.

The first thing he did was run. He ran towards the darkness of the forest, allowing it to swallow him. He didn't care where he was going, or what the others would think if he didn't show up for today's gathering at the park. Right then all he wanted to do was to go anyplace, anywhere without people, to get as far from them as he could.

Takuya didn't pay the slightest attention to where he was going, oblivious to all the branches and vines that were lashing out maliciously at him. He didn't taste the dryness in his throat, or smell the saltiness of his skin. His ears were deaf to the ripping sounds created by his tearing clothes. It was like a black veil had been pulled over him, blocking out all sensations from the outside world.

The next thing he became aware of was that a blurred emerald nebula was swaying erratically in his vision. It took him a few seconds to realize that he was on the ground, on his side, and that that emerald nebula hovering ominously above him

was the dark canopy of the forest. His mind embraced by a hot steam, he laid there quite a while, pondering just how he managed to get in these dark woods, and why he felt so tired.

A sharp sting shooting through his limbs reminded him.

Immediately he sat up, trying to fight the heated heaviness that was trying to hold him down. He somehow was able to sit up and lean back on a large tree nearby, so he didn't need to stress his aching muscles any more than he needed to. The ethereal weight put more pressure on him, pinning him to the ancient plant. 

_Why am I still fighting this, anyway? I'm in a secluded enough spot. I'm sure I'll be able to find my way over there once this is done and over with. Worst thing that'll happen is that they'll probably be some new urban legend floating around, about a monster that lives in those big, scary woods near 6__th__ Street. It's not like I'd hurt anybody. Well, I hope not..._

He watched the cloud of tree leaves shudder as a vagabond breeze drifted by. It did nothing to cool or move the wraithlike burden latched onto his arms and chest like a giant claw.

_Guess I'll know soon enough..._

He happened to look to the pool beside him. Man, he was a mess, with twigs sticking out of his hair and cuts all over his face and arms. His auburn eyes looked so tired.

…But wait, since when did he have auburn eyes?

_Takuya!_ _That was Takuya screaming!_

Zoë had been trying to find her lost purse, tossed into the wilderness of the forest when she had slipped and fallen into the woods thanks to a bout of vertigo, when she heard it. It had taken her no time to recognize the pained voice, and even less time to rush into the heart of the woods.

Now here she was, trying to force back the ill-tempered hands of the trees to prevent them from slapping her in the face. Thanks to the unfriendliness of the woods, she was hacking her way through the forest at a far slower rate than she liked, occasionally calling out Takuya's name in hopes of a response to guide her. Where was he? He could be anywhere!

_I bet that moron tried to attack that Agumon and got himself fried. Sure, being a soccer player makes him stronger than most people, but not that much stronger. Why's he always gotta play the hero and get himself hurt? Does he think that helps our egos any? _

Furiously snapping branches out of the way, she marched through a thicket of tall weeds full of burrs.

_Geez, that guy drives me nuts! Always have to go save his butt whenever his so-called 'Brilliant Plan' goes haywire on him. I swear, that guy just doesn't have a brain..._

Now clear of the weeds and carrying quite a few unwanted souvenirs on her clothes, she charged up the steep hill of gray clay that awaited her. Her shoes, a casual pair of sneakers, were not the best for this job, however, and she often found herself face-to-face with the dirt.

_Dammit...bet that Agumon's chasing him even now, trying to make him into a barbeque-flavored lunch. Stupid Takuya's probably running around in a panic, dodging fireballs. Or maybe not even that. Might already be hurt, or... _

She shuddered at that last thought, and, not paying attention, found herself suddenly tumbling down the other side of that steep hill. The top of that glorified mole mound was rather small, and the ledge had been concealed by a collection of thick old trees. She had stepped over the boundary before she even realized what she had done. The involuntary plummet ended with a crash into a large pile of leaves that concealed a pit. In a few moments she surfaced the pool of tree discards, spitting out a few dried-up leaves.

As she pulled herself out of the pit full of leaves, she realized that this part of the woods was far darker than the parts she'd forced her way through earlier. Everywhere trees were looming over her, their mighty green leaves and extending branches blotting out almost all sunlight. In fact, it was a surprise that she could see anything at all.

That's when she realized that there was a source of faint golden light pouring out between the knotted trees to her left. She slinked through the ancient, twisted plant life that resided there to approach this glow. She hadn't put a single thought about it; it was the closest thing she had to a lead she'd had since this whole insanity started.

The blonde with lengthy hair now stuffed full of burrs, twigs, and dead leaves, found herself in a diminutive area, full of nothing but stubborn grass and willful weeds. The aged, gnarled trees surrounded the area, acting as guardians for this undisclosed spot. Their leaves still kept the sun outside, but this place had a fair amount of light in it.

Then she saw him. His purple shirt was in tatters, and his jeans full of thorns. That beloved baseball cap of his was the unwilling host of various burrs and leaf fragments. Those goggles of his now bore battle scars on their lenses, where rogue branches had slashed at them. His head was leaning forward, and his auburn eyes were possessed by a clouded look.

But the thing that really caught Zoë off guard was that he was cloaked in a golden light, making him seem almost saintly in appearance. It didn't light up the area very much, but the stark contrast he had with these heavily shaded surroundings was more than enough to isolate him in the darkness.

"...Takuya?"

It took the auburn-eyed boy a few moments to notice that he was no longer the only being in this isolated spot.

"Zoë?" he murmured, lifting his head up a little.

"Takuya! What's wrong with you?!" the blonde shouted, rushing over to him.

The brunette with the baseball cap gave her a somewhat dumbfounded look.

"Ain't it obvious?" he asked. "I'm digivolving."

"Huh?" Zoë responded, her emerald eyes widening.

It wasn't like the idea of him digivolving was preposterous; after all, they had all done it many times in the Digital World. If they weren't able to digivolve, then they would have never made it back to see the real world.

But...this was different. When they digivolved before, they were instantly wrapped in a cocoon of data and were transformed in a matter of seconds. Sure, there was some pain involved when being changed from human to Digimon, but nothing excruciating. It was more a suit of armor than an actual new body anyway. Here, though, not only was there no brief shift between DNA and data, but he was clearly suffering from it. And there was another issue involved.

"How could you being digivolving without your Spirit?!" she exclaimed.

"It's a long story..." Takuya answered, smirking slightly.

"...Takuya, you did something to yourself so you could fight that Agumon, didn't you?" the blonde growled.

"This has nothing to do with that stupid Agumon!" Takuya snapped, glaring at her. "I don't want to digivolve, dammit!"

"But...why don't you want to digivolve?" Zoë asked, taken aback by his sudden harshness. "You can just change back, right?"

The baseball-capped boy began quivering slightly.

"Zoë, this isn't like the Spirit evolutions," he began, almost in a whisper. "I have no idea what I'm gonna turn into. I dunno if it's gonna be good, bad or what. All that I'm sure of is that it won't be Agunimon or anything else I've digivolved into before."

"What makes you so sure that it's gonna be different?" the blonde asked.

"It's feels different than Spirit Evolution," Takuya replied. "And…like you said, I don't have the Spirit of Flame anymore, so it couldn't be that, right?"

"Well-"

"Besides," Takuya interrupted, trying to raise himself up but failing. "I don't think I'm gonna be able to change back."

"Huh?! What are you talking about?!" Zoë exclaimed. "Why wouldn't you be able to change back?!"

"Because..." began the auburn-eyed boy. "Well, you know how Bokomon and Neemon digivolved recently right? They can't just go back to being Bokomon and Neemon. Unless they get really exhausted, they won't go back to their previous forms, and even if they did revert to the Rookie forms, they'd turn back into Champions once they recovered their energy. I think...I know that this is that kind of evolution."

"But what makes you so sure?" the green-eyed girl questioned.

"That's not the point!" the brown-haired boy snapped. "The point is that once I digivolve, I won't be Takuya anymore!"

"Don't be stupid!" the blonde growled. "Even when you digivolved with the Spirit, you were still the Takuya I knew. The only difference was that you could toss around fireballs or swords or whatever."

The auburn-eyed child was silent for a few moments.

"...Let me rephrase that," he started again, his voice considerably lower than usual. "If I turned into a Digimon form and got stuck as a Digimon form, just how am I supposed to live here?"

"Well...uh..."

"I know you guys won't care," Takuya interrupted. "But somehow I think I'll have hard time convincing the school that I'm Takuya Kanbara if I look like a monster. You know what, forget school; I wouldn't miss it that much. But what about my parents, or my bro Shinya? What'd they think? I mean, at least this way I can still pretend."

"But Takuya, why didn't you tell us about this?!" Zoë exclaimed. "We're your friends, remember?"

"I couldn't lean on you guys," Takuya answered. "All of you have so many problems already, I mean with Kouichi's school issues, that car accident with Tommy's mom, JP's parents trying to find jobs, and your aunt being so sick. You don't need my problems right now."

"But Takuya-"

"Look, it's not that I can't count on you guys. It's just..." the purple-capped boy began. "Everyone's been under so much stress lately. Don't try to tell me that you're not. Compared to what you guys have been going through, this is nothing."

"Don't try to tell me that this is nothing!" Zoë yelled. "People do not just start glowing in the dark for no reason!"

"I've been the one cheering you guys up, so you can forget about your problems," Takuya continued, ignoring Zoë. There was a small smile on his face. "It makes me feel better too, seeing you guys smile. A friend isn't supposed to bury their friends in problems; a friend supports them so that they can get through those problems."

"Takuya..."

"I was such a weakling, before I went to the Digital World. That place showed me just how much of a burden I was on people, and it made me stronger. When I got back, I made sure to do everything perfectly, because I realized how many people were counting on me. My parents wanted me to do well in grades as well as in soccer, I needed to be a good role model for my brother, and of course the stronger and smarter I am, the more I could help you guys."

The blonde remained silent.

"So I can't break now...I can never break. Too many people are counting on me."

A sickening knot was tying itself in Zoë's stomach. Now that she looked back, how could she have not noticed it? There was so many times when Takuya's laugh seemed just a bit off, or when his smile wasn't quite as happy as it should've been. She had seen it coming, and yet she was so easily distracted from it because she was too busy laughing at one of Takuya's dumb jokes to investigate it further. Now she knew that those dumb jokes were created for the sole purpose of masking his suffering.

How many times had she leaned on him for moral support, whether she needed it or not? How many times had she seen his warm brown eyes seem so sorrowful? How many times had he been pushing himself far too hard, either by jogging well into the evening or studying until 12 o'clock almost every night?

Too many.

And more importantly, how long has this been going on?

"Takuya..." she began, placing her hand onto the goggle-bearer's shoulder. "You do realize that it's okay to ask for help when you need it, don't you?"

"Not it's not!" he snapped, pushing her hand away. "Look, there were plenty of times when I was in way over my head, when I thought I couldn't do it, but in the end I had faith in myself and did it anyway. This was my mistake, and I'll be the one to fix it!"

"What mistake?"

"Nothing!"

"Don't give me that!"

"I said nothing!" Takuya hissed. "It's nothing for you to be concerned about."

"Yes it is!"

"No it's not!"

"Just tell me!"

"No!"

"Why not?" Zoë asked, crossing her arms. "If you tell me what you screwed up on, then maybe we can find a way to stop you from digivolving!"

"It's not that simple..." the auburn-eyed child responded.

"Look, just tell me what happened," the green-eyed girl replied, her voice quieter. "Whatever it was, I'm sure it wasn't nearly as stupid as that plan you had when we were on the Digital World's moons."

"Define stupid," Takuya answered, smiling a little. "If you're talking dumb stupid, then yeah, that's the stupidest thing I've ever done."

Zoë groaned inwardly. Why was he still wearing that stupid smile?

Takuya began wincing.

"Takuya?" questioned the green-eyed girl.

"Sorry, I-I gotta get outta here," Takuya stated, somehow getting back on his feet.

Before Zoë could utter a word, the brunette had dashed ever deeper into the woods and out of sight.

"Takuya!" Zoë cried, also running into the thicker woods. "Wait!"

_Well, there you go. Now you have some idea of what's going on with Takuya. There are still many things to explain, but that will all be in good time. _

_I will not be posting reviews here 'cause we got a nifty new reply thing to use for that. If you don't receive any reply from me, then either I'm being lazy about it, or there wasn't enough in your review to give a valid reply to. _

_Well, hoped you liked it. _

_Cya later!_


	5. Beyond the Passing Thought

_Hi, it's me, with the update…finally, right? XP_

_Quite a bit going on here, especially psychologically. Things just keep on getting crazier and crazier…especially since DM (Digimon mood) came up with an idea at the very very last minute…in fact, I was writing the last bit when DM suddenly exploded and started spewing ideas like crazy...trying to make up for his laziness, I guess. _

_Revision Notes: Chapter is shorter b/c I stuck the first part of it with Zoë and Takuya and the end of the last chapter. Otherwise it's cosmetic touch-ups._

_Anyway, enough blah. Story time!_

_Disclaimer: If I owned Digimon…well, it's have psychological stuff in it. A lot of psychological stuff…especially for the fourth season…_

**Data Set 5: Gamin**

"Boarmon, I'm hungry."

"We can eat once we find that rogue Agumon," the flaming pig growled, ignoring Doggymon's whimpering.

Boarmon had been in a foul mood these past few days, and for good reason. That pesky little Rookie dinosaur was proven far harder to find than expected. They may have had great noses, but the city has all kinds of interesting odors too; trash, road kill, smog, hairspray...Perfect for wrecking a scent trail. What a curious place the real world was. It didn't help that there were all kinds of crevices that even a miniature T-Rex could slip into. Sadly, flaming pigs proved harder to hide than dinosaurs, and Doggymon's attention span was too short for him to investigate on his own. They needed to find that corrupted wretch.

Right then they were poking through the park again, seeing if there were any new Agumon scents. Quite conveniently, Boarmon's fire did not affect the plants around him. The flames, being part of his body, could be controlled enough that he could chose what he wanted to burn and what he didn't. He was sniffing at a berry bush when he heard his yellow companion start to growl.

"What is it Doggymon?"

The canine's beady eyes were fixed on an object a few feet away. It appeared to be moving towards them. It was quite small in size, and it seemed to be trying to avoid them.

Doggymon charged at full speed and pounced the figure, slamming him into the ground.

"Ow! Doggymon!" protested Tommy, the youngest of the group now pinned. "What was that for?!"

"Oh! I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry!" cried out Doggymon, immediately jumping off of him, and helping him up.

"Tommy! Are you allright?!" called out Boarmon, running over to the scene. "Doggymon, you imbecile! You could have hurt him!"

"Don't worry, I'm allright," the short brunette answered, dusting himself off. "He just surprised me, that's all."

Tommy turned to Doggymon, who was still saying _I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry!_ in rapid succession.

"It's okay, Doggymon," Tommy assured, patting the golden canine on the head. "At least you didn't bite me."

"Have you seen anything suspicious?' asked the living barbeque.

"No, not really," Tommy replied, shaking his head a little. "Though Takuya's been acting kinda funny lately...but then again, he _is_ Takuya. He's always acting weird."

"I see..." Boarmon responded. "And what about you?"

"Huh? I feel fine. Though it's kinda cold out," the boy with the mushroom hat remarked, rubbing his arms even though he still wore that heavy brown coat. "Don't worry, I'm sure we'll find that Agumon soon enough. C'mon, you guys have been out here all day looking for him. Let's get something to eat."

"I don't think-"

"Pepper Breath!"

A ball of orange fire shot out of the bushes, and crashed into Doggymon. The yellow dog yelped in pain.

"Doggymon!" both exclaimed.

With the dry leaves and twigs crunching beneath its feet, emerald eyes blazing, came a small orange dinosaur, snarling.

"Well, it's about time," Boarmon growled, the flames on his body growing in size and strength and wrapping him in a cocoon of shimmering heat. "Time to purify your data."

The Agumon roared and lunged toward Boarmon.

The flaming pig leapt out of the way, causing the Agumon to skid across the ground, leaving long claw marks on the green grass. It spun around and snarled.

"Pepper Breath!"

Another ball of flame erupted from its mouth. It crashed right into Boarmon's face, but all the giant swine did in response was shake his head a little.

"What makes you think you're puny little embers can hurt me?" the living barbeque announced proudly.

Several small orange beads of fire formed in and around his mouth, almost pouring out of it.

"Bullet Attack!"

With a harsh breath the beads of fire were launched onto the Agumon, each one exploding on contact.

"Rargh!"

"Ultra Bite!"

The rogue dinosaur snapped its head up just in time to see Doggymon about to land right on top of him, jaws poised like a bear trap. The pose showed off shiny, saber-like teeth.

The Agumon fired another attack, but this time the comical dog evaded the attack and landed right on top of the miniature dinosaur. The golden canine sunk his teeth deep into the Agumon's right shoulder.

The Digimon screeched with pain, thrashing underneath the dog Digimon. The area in which Doggymon was biting him had a fuzzy appearance to it, like a malfunctioning television set. Already many data particles were disengaging from the shoulder, and being absorbed by the golden dog. The Champion canine's weight prevented him from escaping, and his jaws only tightened on the Agumon's upper body. Even as the claws slashed at his face, causing a few data particles to detach from Doggymon, he retained his grip on his prey. A steady rumbling was emitted from the canine's throat.

"That's it, Doggymon! You've got him!" Boarmon cheered.

"Whoa..." Tommy murmured. "Go Doggymon..."

As the child with the mushroom-shaped hat watched as the Agumon flailed below the golden canine, a pit began to form in his stomach.

This was a good thing, wasn't it? There was obviously something wrong with this Agumon, since it didn't even speak. All it wanted to do was hurt others. So it was best that he should be put down, so the rebirth system could purify him, and he could be a normal Agumon...

But just witnessing the scene chilled him. Why should it though? He'd killed evil Digimon before. All of them had. They'd even killed them in gruesome ways sometimes. They had seen those evil ones kill good Digimon in gruesome ways. So why should this one Digimon' death bother him so much?

Was it because this was Neemon?

No, it wasn't Neemon. Perhaps that was it. He'd always assumed that Neemon would always be the same; stupid, but innocent. When Neemon came back as Doggymon, he acted the same, so he just assumed he was the same.

But...

The Agumon was now biting at the yellow dog. He didn't seem to notice. All he seemed to care about was finishing off this opponent, and gaining his data.

He's not the same.

He may have been similar to before. He may have remembered them, and was just as happy to see them as before, but he was not like before. He was different now.

This wasn't innocent, helpless Neemon anymore. This was a formidable Digimon before him, able to not only fight his enemies, but kill them as well. He craved the power that came from absorbing another Digimon's data, as many strong Digimon do, which drove his want, and need, for battle. He could protect them now, just as they had protected him and Bokomon, before he was Boarmon.

But...

The Agumon broke free briefly, but Doggymon pounced on it and bit into his leg, his throat growling and...his tail wagging?

Tommy wasn't sure if he liked this new Neemon, the Doggymon. He was strong now, and useful, unlike before. And they needed guardians, now that they didn't have the Spirits of the Legendary Warriors. He should be grateful really. Only, now he was scared, scared of his own protector.

Had he been like that, when he had killed an opponent? He always thought of himself and the others as noble heroes, who only killed when necessary, without any questions asked. But was he, and the others, for that matter, really being heroic, or were they partially succumbing to the lust for battle, the lust to stand above others and be mighty, the lust to kill the ones who stood in their way?

It would make sense, if they did. Zoë always wanted friends, and many people would want to be her friend if she was strong. JP was always ignored, so being able to show off his power would automatically get anyone's attention. Kouichi felt helpless to control his life, so having the power of a Legendary Warrior gave him a chance to beat down anything that tried to set his life off course. Kouji didn't want to trust anyone because he was afraid of being hurt, but being able to cloak himself in another form would've helped him be more comfortable talking to others, like wearing a mask to a party. And Takuya...now that he thought of it, he didn't know that much about Takuya, but he always struck him as someone who always wanted to be that superhero they saw on TV. As for himself...

Of course he would take advantage of it. He was a small, weak little kid, who always got picked on at school. He didn't really have any friends, he cried a lot, and was even harassed at home by his older brother. So to be given the chance to become a Digimon and to be able to raise hell for anyone who had done him wrong...of course he liked it.

Also, there was always the advantage of being able to blow off steam by crushing something with your own power. To know that you aren't on the bottom, that there's someone you're superior to, that you didn't have to cower at every stranger for fear of being scorned...that was an incredibly satisfying feeling.

Yeah, he had taken advantage of his powers before; they all had. When that Trailmon, a train Digimon used for transportation, wouldn't cooperate with them after he, Zoë, and JP had washed it, they had digivolved in their Beast forms and threatened to beat him up. It worked of course, and it had felt good after all that trouble the Trailmon had caused them.

But...that hadn't been necessary. Not at all. It was a tactic often used by Digimon, evil or just fed up. In a world where battle was the lifeblood, it was rarely questioned unless the levels between Digimon were significantly unbalanced. But they weren't Digimon; they were human. But regardless of that, they had adopted this practice without realizing it. They began thinking like Digimon, without realizing it. There may have been a point where they had forgotten they were really human.

It wasn't quite like they had thought they had lived in the Digital World all their lives. It was more like, without any other humans around, the word 'human' lost its meaning. 'Human' meant that lower form they took when they weren't battling. 'Human' became known as a relaxed mode, not that they had reverted to organisms of a different creation altogether. They were kids, and kids took on the behaviors of the ones around them. They were no humans there, only Digimon, and after a while they accepted them as their peers, and took on their behaviors without noticing it.

He shuddered. Watching the scene, and looking back, it made him very glad that his Digimon Spirit was gone. With its separation from him, and spending time in the real world, he had regained his humanity without ever knowing he had lost it.

But what if Doggymon was dedigivolved? Would he truly and completely revert to his original personality? Or would it be like him, where there were still pieces of him that had been transfigured into something else entirely, and may never change back? He felt those areas inside of him, where he didn't look at things from a child perspective anymore. Many would say that the experience matured him, and that was true. It was just he had trouble telling if he was looking at something from an older person's perspective, or from an older Digimon's.

And what about Boarmon? How much had he changed? As far as he could tell, he had gained some pride, but nothing more. But then he had thought that Doggymon...

His spiraling musings were torn away by a terrified squeal.

Snapping back to attention, what he saw horrified him.

The Agumon's body was glowing with a white light, and quickly expanding. It soon outgrew Doggymon, who was still gnawing at the Digimon. The body was twisting itself into another shape.

Digivolving.

It had almost reached above the trees before it stopped. As the yellow light faded, a new Digimon was revealed. It was still a T-Rex, only this was a full-size T-Rex, with purple stripes across its orange body. On his huge head was a brown mask with two horns protruding each side, most likely made of skullbone. It threw its head back and let out a mangled roar. It almost sounded like it was saying...

...Greymon.

As the glowing ceased, its mighty reptilian eyes locked on its prey, letting out a fiery snort.

"Tommy! Get back!" Boarmon ordered, rushing forward.

The youngest of the former Legendary Warriors wasted no time retreating.

The Greymon's jaws snapped open. A scarlet flame materialized inside, with the heat of the attack causing the air around the giant lizard's mouth to shimmer.

"Nova Blast!"

A huge sphere of crimson fire erupted from the purple-striped T-Rex, complete with a blue tail like a comet. The atmosphere around it was disfigured by the sheer temperature emitted from the fireball.

Boarmon leapt upward toward the attack to block it with his flame-resistant body.

Of course, that was hoping everything went as planned.

As the fireball slammed into him, it did mostly cancel out the attack. However, the absolute force of the assault, as well as his hard impact onto the ground afterward, resulted in a lot more pain than the flaming pig had counted on, the emerald-eyed boy could tell. After lying on the ground for a few moments, he somewhat shakily got back up.

While Boarmon recovered his energy from the shock of the attack, Doggymon took advantage of the Greymon's distraction and clamped his jaws onto the orange dinosaur's ankle, snarling furiously. As if feeling a slight sting, the Greymon calmly turned its head down to the pest below. With a simple flick of its muscular tail, it swatted off the comical canine.

Doggymon yelped as he crashed backwards into a tree. With a little effort, he jumped back onto his feet and continued to growl lowly at his opponent.

The purple-striped giant lunged down with one of his clawed hands. Doggymon nimbly leapt out of the way. The tree behind him had no such option, as it was divided into several sections. Falling, the tree nearly slammed down on Tommy and Boarmon.

"Nova Blast!" the Greymon roared, spitting out another scarlet fireball. This one, aimed at Doggymon, hit its target. With a pained cry, Doggymon was once again sent flying.

"Bullet Attack!"

The orange dinosaur casually turned its manic gaze to Boarmon as his fire pellets rained down on his hide. Growling, he whipped his tail at the living barbecue.

Boarmon was able to jump over the sweeping attack. He hadn't planned on doing much damage to the beast, of course. But it made a nice distraction for his partner.

"Ultra Bite!"

Doggymon lunged at the skull-wearing T-Rex, sinking his sharp teeth into the leg of the deranged Digimon. Greymon snapped his head down towards the golden canine and hissed. Once again, he proceeded to whip the dog attached to his body.

As the tail rushed forward, however, Doggymon let go and lifted himself above the area where the tail was about to strike.

The Greymon let out a painful yelp as it hit himself in the leg with its own tail. While the Greymon was trying to find Doggymon, the golden canine jumped off the dinosaur and aimed himself at the tail.

"Ultra Bite!"

Chomping down on the appendage, the golden canine heard another yelp from his opponent. Snarling even louder now, he tightened his grip on his foe.

The Greymon, however, was fed up with this game. It gave its tail a mighty flick, which dislodged Doggymon's grip and threw the golden canine into the air. While the comical canine was freefalling, it took in a long breath.

"Nova Blast!"

The attack struck Doggymon head-on, driving him into the ground.

"Doggymon!" Boarmon shouted.

The Greymon struck the living barbeque on the side with its tail before anything else can be done.

"Guys!" Tommy yelled. He suddenly felt colder.

The two Digimon managed to get back on their feet, if in a bit of a daze.

"We've got to get you out of here," stated Boarmon, turning to the boy in the mushroom hat. "You can't fight this guy as you are."

"I'll keep him busy," Doggymon added.

"But you can't fight him by yourself!" the green-eyed boy cried out.

"Don't worry, I'll be okay," the golden canine answered with a smile, his tail wagging slightly. "I've fought nastier guys than this." 

"But we certainly can't have you around when there are trees falling and fireballs flying about," Boarmon reminded, before turning to Doggymon. "I'll be back once I've gotten everyone to safety. And don't be afraid to run if things are going badly. We don't know what happens to a Digimon when they die in the real world, where things tend to stay dead."

"I know," Doggymon answered, still smiling.

At the sound of heavy footsteps, everyone whipped their heads around to see their approaching enemy.

"Well, see ya!" Doggymon responded, charging back the purple-striped enemy Digimon.

"Good luck..." Tommy answered as he mounted Boarmon. The flames on Boarmon's body readjusted so that the former Legendary Warrior could ride on his back.

As Boarmon bolted off with green-eyed boy, the young child looked back on the fight behind him with a worried look.

_That whole psychological bit with Tommy was entirely impulsive, and I think it turned out really well. Though…I dunno if it sounds like Tommy…oh well, it was fun. It also had me staying up til 15 before 12 for what I thought would be a short chapter…_

_Well, please review and tell me what you like, don't like, confused by, whatever. I hope you liked it._

_Cya! _


	6. You Are Not Alone

_Hello my patient readers! Only been...almost two years...heh...heh..._

_But it's finally here! The next chapter of Forever Branded By Fire! I thank you all for waiting this long. It's amazing when an old story with no updates continues to get reviews and story alerts. Your persistence has been rewarded XD_

_This chapter jumps around a bit, so watch for that. Also, if all the plot twists seem a bit sudden, it's because they weren't in the original plan XP. I'll probably adjust previous chapters to better transition to the new ones. But that's later._

_Also, updates will probably be erratic. I'm trying to finish up Gilded Smile (my huge King of Bandit Jing fic), and have begun what will be either be a massive Pokemon fic or a series of fics. So a new chapter might not come for awhile. But I should be updating before two years time._

_As a quick recap, last chapter Takuya claimed he was digivolving and ran off, with Zoë chasing after him. Meanwhile, the rogue Agumon became a rogue Greymon, and Tommy and Boarmon rushed off to find the others while Doggymon distracted the Greymon. _

_Revision Notes: Nothing big here, just the usual extra details and such. _

_As a random trivia fact for you guys, this chapter has always been slightly awkward to me b/c I neither had the original plan or the final plan in mind when I was writing it. When I was doing this chapter the idea was that the Frontier kids would be divided by their opinions to digivolve (Kouji, JP, and Zoë) or not digivolve (Takuya, Tommy, and Kouichi) and would fight among each other until a compromise of some sort was reached. I'm glad I didn't go with that plan._

_Disclaimer: If I owned Digimon the Frontier kids would be a lot more loved than they are now._

**Data Set 6: You Are Not Alone**

Zoë cursed these fainting spells. The school tests and overdoses of coffee must have been getting to her.

Unsteadily she pulled herself up to her feet, staring at the obscure shapes of brown, black and green floating around her.

…_A forest? What am I doing in a forest?_

She took one step forwarded and screamed as a thrush erupted from the fallen leaves, gracefully sliding through the cracks in the emerald ceiling of the woods to reach the pale heavens just above. As she leaned against one of the many gnarled trees for support, she glared up at the mostly concealed sky.

_It's not fair. Why can't I fly like that, like I used to? Then I could just fly away, fly away from this forest, fly away from this city, fly away from all of this. Why can't I do that? I want to, I want-_

Suddenly her legs gave way and she found herself on the leaf-littered ground, again. Her head was spinning.

_What? Again? But I just…_

"Zoë! Zoë, are you alright?!"

The blonde was just pushing herself up into a sitting position when Kouji dashed over the knots of vines and thorns with ease.

"Yeah, I'm okay. Just slipped, that's all," she lied, bearing a foolish smile while her head throbbed. "What are you doing here?"

The long-haired boy with the red-trimmed bandana and pale blue eyes turned his head and spat out some gum that he had been chewing.

"Taking a walk," responded Kouji, pulling a packet of gum out of his jean pocket only to find it empty. "You wouldn't happen to have some extra gum, would you?"

"Nope, sorry."

With a sigh, he turned to a young poplar sapling nearby, tore off one of its smaller limbs, and began gnawing on the stick's end.

"You're always chewing on something these days," Zoë stated blandly, watching him nibble on the severed branch. "I think Takuya's right. You're turning into a beaver."

She gasped.

"Takuya! Something's wrong with Takuya!" she exclaimed, swiftly shooting up to her feet despite her light-headedness. "He was glowing and…he said that he was digivolving, but that's impossible, right?"

Kouji's pale blue eyes narrowed. They almost shone in the darkness.

"…Digivolving? Are you sure?"

"Yeah, that's what he said!" affirmed the former Legendary Warrior of Wind. "But he was so scared though. I doubt he was thinking straight. So maybe it's something else. He said something about it being all his fault, some mistake of his. But it's hurting him really badly, whatever it is. We've got to find him!"

The past Legendary Warrior of Light folded his arms, the stick poking out of the side of his mouth.

"…Hey Zoë," he began, taking the stick out of his maw. "Have you been feeling…funny lately?"

"What?" asked the green-eyed girl, raising an eyebrow. "I didn't imagine it, if that's what you're saying!"

"I didn't say that. Look, I'm going to look for Takuya," stated the raven-haired boy, waving the chewed-on limb around in the air. "But first I'm going to take you back to my place to rest, though. I don't know how long you've been trying to find him, but you don't look well at all."

"What are you talking about?!" Zoë shouted. "I'm-"

Something snapped. Zoë wasn't sure what had snapped inside her, but something had. As she began to fall, Kouji caught her.

"Why can't anyone be honest these days?" she heard him speak in a troubled tone, the last words she heard from the boy with pale blue eyes before the darkness began to assail her.

…_Pale blue eyes? Since when did Kouji have pale blue eyes?_

IIIIII

Could it be? Had he fought it off…again?

Takuya's hopes sank as he analyzed himself closer. At least he wasn't glowing anymore. But that burning power, he still felt that blazing power pulsing within him, although he no longer felt so sick. That power was making his eyes burn. It wasn't trying to make him digivolve, but it wasn't sleeping either. It probably wouldn't be long until it would attack his humanity again.

It was while he was in this reverie that Kouji came from out of the darkness, his eyes a pastel blue in the shadows.

"There you are," the long-haired boy spoke calmly, his ponytail bouncing behind him as he walked toward the gogglehead. "You've got Zoë worried sick about you, you know."

The pale-eyed child paused.

"Are you really digivolving?"

"Yeah. Are you wondering why?" asked Takuya, smirking a bit.

"Zoë said something about a mistake you wouldn't talk about."

The brown-haired boy looked to the side.

"When I ran."

"Ran?"

"When you took the blow from Duskmon that was meant for me, I ran," Takuya explained, still looking away. "I told myself it was because I wasn't worthy of leading the Legendary Warriors, or even being part of the Legendary Warriors, but I was just scared. A damn coward!"

Kouji said nothing.

"I came across a Dark Trailmon who said it would take me home, back to the real world. So I got on it, thinking I could just escape and forget about the whole thing. But when I got there, I turned into this half-Digimon that was like the rookie form of Agunimon or something. So eventually I realized that I _had _to go back. Once I returned to the Digital World, I digivolved into Agunimon and was able to de-equip the Spirit to become normal again. Or so I thought."

The former Warrior of Fire looked down at one of his hands and smirked coldly.

"But I guess I should've known better, thinking I could get away with a mistake that could've cost all of you your lives. I bet I've been half-Digimon ever since, even though I look human. I just didn't realize it until the Digimon side started trying to force me to digivolve."

He clenched his fist.

The long-haired boy was silent at first, but then he shook his head and sighed.

"This is just like you, Takuya. You blame everything on yourself," stated Kouji, a hint of a smile on his pale face. "If something goes wrong and someone gets hurt, you feel like it's all your fault. You want to protect everyone by trying to be everywhere and everything at once, but that keeps you from seeing the big picture."

"Whaddaya mean?" asked the brunette, looking up.

The pastel-eyed youth smirked.

"Takuya, you've got it all wrong."

"…Huh?" he exclaimed, staring at the black-haired boy like he had said the world was flat.

"The Spirits would never punish you like that. It's not the way of the Legendary Warriors," Kouji spoke, wincing slightly. "That, and…"

The boy with the pale blue eyes began to give off a faint yellow light.

"…You're not the only one digivolving. So am I," he stated simply, the faint color in his eyes fading even more. "And Zoë. And Kouichi. Probably the others too."

"W-What?!" Takuya gasped. "But that's impossible!"

"Is it?" Kouji asked. "Or were you too wrapped up in your own guilt to pay attention to other people's problems?"

The brunette boy began to open his mouth, but then he closed it again.

"Heh, so was I," added the pale-eyed boy. "If we hadn't been so wrapped up in our own problems, we would've realized that we weren't the only ones suffering, that we weren't alone. But I guess that's an issue human society's always had."

"But if my…our digivolution now wasn't caused by my mistake, then what is causing it?"

"Don't you get it?" Kouji questioned, smiling as he gazed up to the flawless sky just beyond the dark forest canopy. "Lady Ophanimon and the Spirits of the Legendary Warriors, they're calling us back! We must be needed in the Digital World!"

IIIIII

Boarmon abruptly stopped his galloping pace, nearly throwing little Tommy off his back. His long ears twitched as he let out a smoked-filled snort.

"What is it, Boarmon?" asked the youngest of the former Legendary Warriors, regaining his proper seat on the pig Digimon's back. He gave a shiver, but not out of fear. He just felt cold. Cold and sleepy. But how could he be sleepy at the time like this?

"What's that sound?" the giant swine asked, turning his huge head to the right.

"What sound?" Tommy asked, before he began to hear it himself. It was a mix of mechanical hums, chugging, and buzzing, all blended together into a rhythmic cocktail of noise. He closed his eyes for a few moments to listen better.

"Well, it doesn't sound like a rampaging Greymon, at least," stated the living barbeque.

"I think it's the old power plant," Tommy answered.

"A power plant?"

"Yeah, there an old power plant nearby here. Sometimes me and the others hang out there if it's raining in the park. But that's weird. It's supposed to be abandoned. It shouldn't be running."

"Let's go check it out," Boarmon suggested, starting to run toward the allegedly forgotten power source. "If that Greymon fed off of the electronic waves coming from that plant, it could become even stronger."

"But that means that you could feed off them and become stronger too, right?" asked the boy with the mushroom hat.

"That's true, but as long as I can feed off it, so can the Greymon, so all advantages would be lost," explained the flaming pig. "Is that it up ahead?"

"Yeah, that's it!"

The enormous hog clopped toward a large grey building that was being slowly cocooned by vines. Some of the weeds were beginning to invade the inside of the lonely structure, creeping through broken windows and widening cracks. The door, however, remained free of vegetation due to occasional use. The humming, chugging sounds were unmistakable.

"I'm surprised this place still works," admitted the former Legendary Warrior of Ice, asked he dismounted from Boarmon.

"Not in the best of shape, is it?" commented the fire beast dryly. "Why was it abandoned?"

"They just built a better one somewhere else," the former Legendary Warrior of Ice replied, as the door shied open with a mere touch.

"Humans amaze me in so many ways. The things they can build and leave behind."

Robotic clatter washed over Tommy and Boarmon as they stepped inside, their feet giving birth to echoes as they walked across the gray, cold floor. If the outside has been cheerless, the atmosphere was hopeless inside. Machines colored remorseful silver rumbled away, hard at work at creating the yellow lifeblood of cities and houses. The youngster studied his somber reflection in the shiny surface of the metal, the double's blue-green eyes looking back at him with utmost curiosity. Blue-green eyes?

And then there was a figure, holding wires that were bare and cut. He was taking in all their golden power, a serene expression on his face.

"JP?"

The chubby boy let out a yelp and spun around, golden-brown eyes wide. He dropped the severed wires onto the floor.

"Tommy! Boarmon! W-What are doing here?" the taller teenager asked nervously.

"We could ask you the same," replied the flaming pig.

Tommy stared at the live wires lying abandoned on the floor, shooting off sparks like a trick candle at a birthday party.

"JP, how were you-"

"-Not getting my brains fried?" asked the caramel-haired boy, smiling slightly. "Don't tell me you forget what element I was when I was a Legendary Warrior."

"Of course not. But you're not a Legendary Warrior anymore, and even when you were you couldn't do something like this when you were a human," the boy with the mushroom cap stated. "So how can you do it now?"

The other brunette smirked mirthlessly, eyeing the sparking cords on the floor.

"That's a good question. A question I'm finally starting to answer."

"What do you mean?" asked Boarmon.

JP sighed, sitting on the floor next to the live wires that cackled incessantly.

"Things is, guys, I don't think I'm that human anymore."

"Huh?!" cried out Tommy.

"Are you sure?" countered Boarmon, the flames on his body blazing for a moment or two.

"Yeah," the caramel-haired boy answered casually, leaning his back against the cold wall and looking up. "I think it explains a lot, and not just this craving for electricity that came up all of a sudden a few months ago. I've been mostly using this power plant to take care of that, but sometimes I end up wanting some during school hours. It's like longing for a chocolate bar. You just gotta have one."

"Wait, is that the reason that there have been so many blackouts at the school lately?! Because you were draining electricity from somewhere?!" interrogated the shorter boy with blue-green eyes.

"Hey, not all of those blackouts were my fault! The electricity in the school's been kinda wonky lately anyway, with the lights flickering all the time and the computers always screwing up," JP defended. "But, uh, quite a few of them were my fault, yeah."

"…You really shouldn't do that."

"I know. But I can't help it!" the chubby teenager with golden-brown eyes replied, laughing a little bit and rubbing the back of his head. "But seriously, I think I'm becoming a Digimon. It feels like it's calling me to come home."

"What is?"

"The Digital World."

"Huh?! What are you talking about?! Your home is in the real world! I mean, the Digital World is an awesome place and I'm glad we were able to save it and the Digimon, but that doesn't mean-"

"Don't you get it Tommy? I want to go back to the Digital World because I belong there," JP responded with a perfect calmness, his goofy smile vanishing. "Becoming a Digimon just makes it more convenient. 'Cause he truth is, I'm not needed here in the real world."

"You're not needed here? Don't be silly," replied the youngster with blue-green eyes with an almost cheerful grin. "We're always glad to have you around, JP."

"I wasn't talking about you guys. I know you'll always stick by me," the caramel-haired boy answered, reflecting his friend's nearly joyful smile. "But the real world, it doesn't care. I'm just one more mouth to feed, one more person looking for a job, one more person easily replaced. If I'm lucky I might get a decent job that'll have me distrustful of my co-workers and leave too tired at the end of the day to do anything. What a life, huh? But make a difference here? I doubt it."

Then his expression grew more cheerful, almost innocent.

"But if I live in the Digital World, I know I'll be able to make a difference. As a Digimon, I can roam the lands and make friends along the way, and we can do anything we want. And my job will be to protect my friends from any bad guys that show up. I'll smash them to the ground! Of course I'll visit you guys too every now and then, maybe take you on the tour of the Digital World. Heck, you guys might be riding on my back, depending on how big I get."

The boy with golden-brown eyes leaned back and laughed.

"I wonder what kind of Digimon I'll digivolve to…"

"Wouldn't you just be Beetlemon again?" asked Tommy, looking concerned.

"Nah, I doubt it. This feels different," answered the chubby boy, looking down at his hand. "With the Spirit, I was only kinda digivolved. It was like wearing a costume, pretending to be a Digimon, even though I was actually a Digimon, or something. But now I don't need the Spirit because I'm becoming my own Digimon."

"Really?"

"Well, my body's been trying to digivolve, but it's not strong enough yet or something, so it's been craving all this electricity to power it up. Is that what it felt like the time before you digivolved, Boarmon?"

"Well, I can't really say," admitted the fire beast. "My digivolution was quite sudden, being an armor digivolution, so it's not like I felt any power building up over time. Perhaps you could ask Doggymon…"

"Oh that's right! Doggymon!" Tommy abruptly exclaimed. "He's fighting against the Greymon now!"

"The _Greymon_? You mean the Agumon _digivolved_?" JP balked, eyes wide.

"That's right! We must warn the others right away!" affirmed Boarmon. "We came here because we were concerned that the Greymon might go after this power plant to drain energy from it."

The child with golden-brown eyes nodded solemnly.

"I gotcha, I'll turn this place off," he replied, moving into the heart of the plant. "But man, I just wish I was a Digimon already. Then I'd just kick this Greymon's butt!"

Tommy said nothing.

IIIIII

Takuya paused.

"No that…that can't be right," he began. "If she wanted us to come back, she'd just use our cellphones like last time, right?"

"Lady Ophanimon wouldn't use the same method twice. For one, the enemy probably knows about it," Kouji countered.

"But even then, she wouldn't do something like this!" Takuya protested. "She's not like that! She wouldn't put us through this pain just to call us. I know you're acting real tough right now, but your body hurts a lot when it's trying to digivolve, doesn't it?"

The pale-eyed boy narrowed his eyes as he grew breathless, eventually descending into a brief coughing spell. As the light abruptly began to fade, he leaned against an old tree and slid down to a sitting position.

"…You're right, she wouldn't do that," the black-haired boy agreed, coughing a couple more times before his breath grew more tranquil. "But even if the Spirits aren't with us now, we're still in part Legendary Warriors. If we're being affected by something, then imagine what's happening in the Digital World."

"But Neemon and Bokomon – er, Doggymon and Boarmon – they didn't say anything about any disasters in the Digital World or anything."

"What about that Agumon that's been running around? What caused a Digimon to go rogue like that? It didn't even speak," Kouji pointed out.

"Well…guess you got a point. But maybe that Agumon's just weird or something," Takuya replied. "And even though the Spirits helped us save the Digital World, we're still humans. The Spirits were like armor we put on. They weren't us. It shouldn't have made us part data or anything. Our DigiVices turned back into cellphones when we came back. If we were really supposed to fight again, they'd change back."

Kouji closed his eyes. Now that Takuya thought of it, his eyes were a much paler blue than they used to be. Was his eye color different too?

"I find it hard to believe that we'll ever be totally severed from the fate of the Digital World," the dark-haired child began calmly. "We're DigiDestined, the vessels of the Spirits of the Legendary Warriors. We were chosen to protect that world. A year has passed, but to the Digital World that's eons. The peace we brought was supposed to last for thousands of years. But haven't thousands of years passed there already? Evil is probably rising again. Think about it. Aren't we due to go back?"

"But what about this world?!" Takuya exclaimed. "I love the Digital World. I'll never forget it. But I want to live my life as a human, not a Digimon. I want to help this world! What's wrong with that?!"

Kouji opened his eyes.

"Takuya, before you entered the Digital World and became a Legendary Warrior, did you feel alive?"

"Huh?" asked the gogglehead, giving the black-haired boy a blank stare. "What kind of question is that? Of course I felt alive. My heart was beating and I breathed hard whenever I played a good game of soccer."

"That's not what I meant," the pastel-eyed twin replied, giving the brunette boy an irritated look.

"Then what do you mean?"

Kouji sighed.

"When I first met you, I thought you were crazy. But thinking back, you were probably the most stable of us all," the pale-eyed boy spoke. "Zoë was insecure about making new friends. JP thought no one cared about him since he was always ignored by his classmates. Tommy was a crybaby who was afraid of everything and couldn't take care of himself. Kouichi always felt that he caused trouble to other people. And I myself didn't want anyone close to me because I didn't want to be hurt. We were a pretty lost bunch, weren't we?"

"Hey c'mon, you guys weren't that bad," assured the gogglehead, smiling. "Heck, I was the worst. I only thought about myself and having fun. It wasn't until the mistake that I…"

"But in the end we helped each other become stronger," Kouji interrupted, looking up to the canopy of the forest. "And because of that we became better people."

"Yep, that's what matters!" Takuya chirped cheerfully.

The longer-haired boy closed his eyes again.

"Now imagine…that we had never met."

"Huh?" asked Takuya. "That we…never met?"

"Yeah. That there was no Lady Ophanimon, no cellphone call, no Digital World, and that day we were summoned ended up being just an ordinary day."

The goggle-bearer paused, also looking up to the canopy of the forest.

"…I can't."

"Can't or won't?" asked Kouji, opening his pale-hued eyes and turning to Takuya. "It's scary, isn't it? We would've all carried on unaware of all our flaws. And those flaws would only have gotten worse. And I never would have met my twin brother, Kouichi."

"Now that's a little extreme, don't you think?" questioned the brunette. "I mean, it would've sucked never knowing you guys, but there would be other people to help us with our problems, and I'm sure that you would've found Kouichi eventually. Heck, I bet we all would've met, eventually."

"Oh, I seriously doubt it."

"Why?"

"Because that's not how this world works, Takuya," he growled, ice-hued eyes set directly on the brunette. "Haven't you figured that out yet? No one cares about anyone else here. We're all taught to distrust each other and trust only ourselves. Whenever there's a disaster somewhere, countries offer money and assistance and everyone involved is terrified, but anyone outside of that doesn't care. They don't understand that seeing a typhoon on TV and seeing that typhoon in real life are completely different experiences. They don't want to understand it. They don't want to let themselves be hurt by something they aren't involved in. They think they are in far too much pain already, as if they are the most unfortunate person in the world, as they sit there in their warm houses sipping soda in their chair."

"Kouji-"

"And it's not like there's ever any real peace for us, even within our warm houses, by ourselves. There's always that emptiness. The feeling that there's something more we should do, but we don't know what. That feeling that you're just another person in the world, taking up space."

"Kouji, that's-"

"That's what it felt like before, didn't it?" the obsidian-haired boy interrupted. "Before you entered the Digital World."

Takuya said nothing.

"Don't you get it? We didn't just save the Digital World. The Digital World saved us. We were saved because we were forced to feel, forced to care, forced to see other's suffering. Because we fought to save others, we realized that we weren't just naïve kids who didn't understand how life worked. We know better than most people how life works! We saw life born, and we saw life die. It didn't matter if they were Digimon instead of human. We were all the better for it, because it made us realize that human aren't the only sentient beings. Humans are pretty conceited thinking that, aren't they?"

Takuya silently stared.

"That's why…" Kouji added. "That's why I'm not scared of becoming a Digimon. I want to become a Digimon. I was always better suited to be a Digimon, I realize that now. I'm better suited for the Digital World."

"Kouji…Kouji, do you know what you're saying?!" Takuya exclaimed. "You want to completely give up your humanity?!"

"That's exactly what I'm saying," the Legendary Warrior of Light spoke. "Why are you afraid, Takuya?"

"Because I want to stay who I am, not become a monster!"

"We're not going to become monsters!"

"How do you know that?!" Takuya spat back. "Kouji, you know it's not the Spirits that are making you digivolve. So what _are _you going to digivolve into? Do you know?"

The pale-eyed boy was quiet.

"You don't know what you'll become, do you?" the goggle-bearer asked. "What a Digimon becomes in digivolution is affected the most by their passions and personalities. If they liked something as a Rookie-level Digimon, they usually like it even more as a Champion-level Digimon, and if they hated something as a Rookie-level Digimon, then they'll hate it even more as a Champion-level Digimon."

"Yeah, I've noticed that. So when you digivolve, you'll want to protect people even more, right?"

"Yeah, probably," Takuya replied, smiling a little. "But Kouji, were you listening to yourself earlier?"

"Hmm?"

"You said that you hated this world, that this world was bad and couldn't be saved," the brunette stated, gazing coldly at the obsidian-haired boy. "Did you ever consider how much worse that hatred is going to be after you digivolve? What that hatred might make you do?"

Kouji's already pale face turned white.

"That's why…" Takuya added. "That's why I don't want to become a Digimon. Because that digivolution might bring out some uglier aspect of me. I might not be Takuya anymore. And I want to protect this world, save this world, as a human."

The black-haired boy's pastel-hued gaze slipped to the ground.

"…I've been trying to digivolve for a while now, but each time it always fails. I wanted the power of a Digimon so badly. But…what you said just now…I never thought about it like that. Craving power…that's how an evil Digimon is formed. Maybe that's why I can't digivolve. My mind isn't ready for it yet. I'll have to wait until it is."

"But you're still going to let yourself become a Digimon?"

"We're all going to become Digimon at some point. There must be a good reason for it. But it might be best that some of us go to the Digital World, while the rest of us stay in the real world. That way both worlds are protected."

"But shouldn't we be allowed to choose if we want to become a Digimon or not?!" Takuya protested.

"Well, it'd be a lot easier to protect the real world from threats if you had the powers of a Digimon, wouldn't it? Even if people freak out because you look like a monster, it's more important that you have the ability to save them than if they like you, right?"

"Well…guess you got a point."

"And one more word of advice," added the former Legendary Warrior of Light, as he began to turn around. "Craving the power of a Digimon and trying to speed up the process of digivolution would result in a monstrous digivolution, but it's possible the same thing could happen if you fight against it. Struggling against the digivolution so violently while you're changing could do serious damage to you. Just something to keep in mind."

Kouji took one step, and his pale eyes narrowed.

"What is it?" asked Takuya.

"Who's there?" growled the bandana-wearing boy, glaring at a nearby bush.

A few moments passed, and a white cat with purple stripes came out of the bush cautiously. Its long tail swished from side to side, and it kept its crystal-blue eyes locked on Kouji as it walked toward him.

"Hey, it's a Gatomon!" the goggle-bearer stated. "Hey, you don't think it's like the Agumon, do you?"

"What Agumon?" asked the Gatomon in the usual female voice, cocking her head slightly as her tail twitched.

Both boys breathed a sigh of relief.

"Good, she seems normal," stated Takuya, smiling.

"Normal?" she questioned.

"There's a berserk Agumon on the loose. For some reason it doesn't speak," Kouji explained. "Look out for it, okay?"

"Hmm…Will do," the Gatomon nodded, dashing off into the bushes.

"What's a Gatomon doing here?" asked the brown-haired boy.

"I dunno," the longer-haired child admitted. "But even though she seems alright, she could be connected to that strange Agumon. I wouldn't trust her too much."

"You're paranoid, you know that."

"And you're naïve."

"And proud of it!"

"Whatever. Let's hurry up and get out of here."

"By the way, your eyes are colored weird," added the goggle-bearer.

The black-haired boy blinked.

"They are?"

IIIIII

She hated school filters. Hated hated hated hated HATED them.

Ms. Kamiya scowled at the computer screen as the mentioned program claimed that she couldn't access the school site because of "explicit content". And the principal wondered why no one was turning in class attendance…the troubled electrical system of the school didn't help much either. Flickering lights and increasing bouts of full blackouts made it very hard to teach her lessons about _Call of the Wild_ like she was supposed to.

The school filter programs had the best intentions, they really did. Sadly, their inferior programming always had them going off at the worst of times, making life that much more painful for anyone who they were supposed to protect. All the while they would miss the vital problem areas they were supposed to be guarding against. But their creators really meant no harm…

She fingered through the class attendance sheets that she was supposed to be sending by email. The brown-haired teacher frowned at the marked absence of Zoë Izumi, her third absence in two weeks. Another student of hers, Kouichi, said she had been feeling lightheaded that day, Ms. Kamiya noticed the pained expression on his face during class as he rubbed his forehead. He seemed to be forgetting all his lessons too.

"Maybe we're pushing them too hard," she murmured to herself, recalling how she's seen Kouichi's twin brother, Kouji, with dark circles under his eyes as he coughed and caressed his throat. "Grades have been going down this semester…"

Her musing was broken by an insistent tapping at the window. She turned to see a large white cat with purple stripes and lynx-like ears just outside, knocking against the glass impatiently with her claw.

_Gatomon? What's she doing here?_

Ms. Kamiya strolled over to the window and opened it, the papers on her desk abandoned. The feline quickly leapt into the room, her eyes darting about before turning to the young teacher.

"Kari, I heard there's a rogue Agumon on the loose."

The woman named Kari groaned and rubbed her forehead.

"As if I don't have enough problems this semester."

"But…that's not the big problem," Gatomon continued. "I have a very good reason for you to be worried about the youth of this generation."

_Hmm...I think Kouji went over the edge in that last bit. Not sure if that was supposed to happen or not. I know Takuya wasn't supposed to win that argument XP._

_Does everyone seem...well, relatively in character? It's been a while since I've watched a lot of Frontier, so feel free to tell me if you think they're off._

_Cya! Hopefully sooner and not later!_


	7. The Elder Witnesses of Fate

_Hello again! I hope you're having a good year so far. And yes, I have updated before two more years have passed XD._

_I bring good news: I now know the plot from here on to the very end, which will make writing things much easier. It will also mean faster updates. And I'm guessing there are about four chapters left. Not many really._

_Another thing: this will be connected to the Overwrite series, so therefore it will be following Overwrite guidelines. For those unfamiliar, this basically means that all the seasons (excluding Season 5, which I have only seen one episode of) are connected into one timeline, that the different generations of DDs will have issues will each other for various valid and invalid reasons, and that only certain older DDs will be able to appear at this time. In the Overwrite timeline, this story would come before a very highly revised Commencing Overwrite. All this Overwrite junk being said, this story will stand just fine on its own if the revised Commencing Overwrite never comes to be._

_Oh, and because I forgot to mention it last time, congrats to those who guessed what Takuya's "mistake" was. Though I suppose it wasn't that hard to guess..._

_Revision Notes: Nothing special, just polishing things up. _

Disclaimer: _No, I don't own Digimon. Otherwise the chars would see_ _me as a ruthless tyrant_ _and all the DDs would be out to get me. Especially these guys._

_Enjoy!_

**Data Set 7: The Elder Witnesses of Fate**

Davis Motomiya couldn't have asked for a better life, no matter how much other people may laugh at his noodle-cart business. Those stuffy office workers didn't know what they were missing. On the verge of his twenty-second birthday, the brunette still had the goggles Tai had given him as a 12-year-old. Now they were hanging around his neck, the broken strap tied together in the back. Also hanging around his neck was a necklace Kari had given him a year later, bearing a black fragment with a piece of a golden ring attached to it.

As well as his noodle business, his side job as a high school janitor let him chat with the kids going there as they passed by. Kari also worked at the same school, so he got to see the caramel-haired teacher there quite a bit, which brightened his life any day. If it wasn't for the school's ongoing electrical problems for the past few months, things would have been perfect.

The youthful brown-haired man was pushing his depleted noodle-cart home for restocking when he noticed a kid from the high school he worked in sitting on a wooden bench nearby. The black-haired child was gazing up into the sky with half-drooped eyelids, a pale-skinned individual with a plain white shirt and khakis.

Kouichi, that was his name. The quiet kid who was always getting lost inside the school. Davis had often bumped into him when the kid had gone astray, and helped him get pointed in the right direction. The janitor didn't know it was possible for a kid to get that easily lost. He wondered if he was lost now.

"Yo, Kouichi!" the noodle-cart master called as he strolled over, parking said food carrier nearby. "How's it going?"

The light-skinned boy slowly turned his head to the brown-haired school-cleaner.

"…Hey."

As Davis sat down next to the black-haired teen, he noticed the slightly glazed look in the child's sapphire eyes.

"Hey, you feeling okay?" he asked. "You look kinda out of it."

"Haven't I always been out of it lately?" replied Kouichi, smirking slightly. "…Can I ask you a stupid question?"

"Sure! Can't be any stupider than something I'd come up with."

"…Where's the Travel Mark grocery store from here? I left the house to get some more milk, but I can't find it."

_So he __**is **__lost, _thought Davis, stretching his arms. "Dude, that's all the way on the other side of town."

"…No wonder I couldn't find it," the dark-haired boy responded, sighing.

"Hey, don't be so hard on yourself," laughed the brunette janitor. "This place is confusing sometimes. I've been going up and down these streets selling noodles for years, I and still get lost."

Then Davis noticed a tiny blue-and-white creature wiggling its way out of his empty noodle-cart, stretching and yawning. Davis smiled as the animal with zigzag ears jumped out and waddled its way over to the two of them, its big brown eyes still sleepy.

Here was his life-long partner, according to friendship and according to fate. Of course, he didn't tell people that he was a Digimon, but passed on off as an exotic dog that he'd named Bluesy. It worked surprisingly well.

Kouichi stared in wonder at the little mammal.

"Oh yeah, you haven't met this little guy, have you?" asked Davis, picking up the azul creature. "Yeah, can't bring him to my janitor job since no pets are allowed at the school, which really sucks. Anyway, his name is-"

"A DemiVeemon!" the boy in khaki pants interrupted, leaning closer for a better look. For the first time since the conversation began, his eyes were alert. "Hey, what are you doing here, little guy?"

"What's he doing here?" He's been my partner for years," the cheerful man announced proudly. "Hey, wait a sec. You know what he is?!"

"Yeah, he's a Digimon from the Digital World," Kouichi stated simply, as if it was common information. "How did you get him?"

"Like I said, he's my partner. We were fated to meet. I'm a DigiDestined, after all," explained the noodle-cart master. "But hey, you know about Digimon and the Digital World. Are you a DigiDestined too?"

"Uh, yeah," the black-haired boy replied, nodding and smiling.

"Yay! Another friend!" chirped DemiVeemon, jumping into Kouichi's lap. "Who's your partner Digimon? I don't see him anywhere. Does he have to stay at home 'cause he's too big?"

"Well, he's not with me anymore," began the black-haired boy, rubbing his forehead a bit. "But I don't get how this partnership between you and Davis works. Are you a reborn Legendary Warrior? And how do you help Davis digivolve when you're like this?"

The little blue-and-white animal gave him a long stare.

"Uh, what are you talking about?" asked Davis, mirroring his partner's gawk. "Dude, you must be confused. He doesn't digivolve me. I digivolve him. You know, all the DigiDestined get a Digimon partner and a DigiVice, and then they use that DigiVice to digivolve their Digimon to kick the bad guy's butts. It's standard DigiDestined stuff."

The pale teenager gave a look that was almost cold, his eyes dark blue.

"But can't you digivolve on your own, DemiVeemon?"

"Yeah, but it's a lot easier with the DigiVices," the little Digimon explained. "Usually Digimon of the DigiDestined stay in their Rookie or In-Training forms to save energy, like I am right now. But if I need to, I can go all the way to the Mega level with the help of DNA Digivolution, when DigiDestined can combine their Digimon. We don't stay fused forever, of course, but when we do it once we can do it again with that Digimon anytime. It's awesome."

"But what does your human partner do, besides help you digivolve?"

"Well…" Davis began. "We cheer them from the sidelines and warn them about incoming attacks. I guess it doesn't sound like much, but it's totally worth it. Be one of the proud and the few, Kouichi!"

Instead of a wholehearted agreement, or even a shy nod, Kouichi leered at the brown-haired man. The sharp gaze from the usually mild-mannered boy startled the janitor.

"…You're not a DigiDestined," the pale-skinned child growled. "You have your Digimon fight for you because you can't fight yourself."

"Hey, that's not true!" piped up DemiVeemon, hopping into Davis's lap. "Davis helps out a lot. If I didn't have him, I wouldn't be able to fight off all these bad Digimon over the years. Plus Davis is a great guy. He's willing to lay his life on the line for the Digital World."

"If he was really a DigiDestined, he wouldn't need to rely on you for everything," stated Kouichi. "I'm not saying that you can't help him out, or that he can't help you digivolve, but he should be the one leading the fight."

"Well excuse me for not being able to shoot laser beams from my mouth. Though that would be cool," Davis replied, a smirk crawling up his face as he imagined himself in a superhero outfit spitting out energy blasts. "I'd love to go out there and fight with my buddy, but even I'm not _that_ stupid. I'm only human, you know."

"…Only human…"

"Dude, have you ever _been _to the Digital World?" questioned Davis, rubbing behind his blue-and-white creature's zigzag ears. "It's crazy. There's Digimon everywhere, and some of them can be really nasty. They'll eat you up quick if you don't have a Digimon to protect you."

"I know that!" snapped Kouichi, his dark eyes almost black. "Me and the others saved the Digital World a year ago. Of course we know what a dangerous place it is. I remember all the barren landscape of the dark lands, every rock and every ruin, every crater on the Digimon's three moons."

He gripped his forehead tightly.

"…Yet why is it…that I can't remember the street I live on, can't remember anything the teachers say or what rooms are in what buildings, can't remember my way to the damn grocery store even though I've followed Kouji there a dozen times. And yet I can remember every detail of our picnic in the Village of Beginnings, right down to the markings of the Digi-eggs in the trees and what the food smelled and tasted like…as if I'm still there now…"

"Kouichi…" Davis began, reaching out to the trembling teen. "Maybe you better lie down. You don't look good at all."

"Back off," the obsidian-haired boy snarled. "Imposter!"

Tendrils of darkness suddenly burst from the ground all around Kouichi, twisting and writhing.

"Whoa!" exclaimed Davis, as he and DemiVeemon hurriedly slid away from the tentacles of darkness and fell off the end of the bench in the process.

Pushing himself back up, the brown-haired man looked into Kouichi's cold eyes. His eyes were so black that it was impossible to tell where his irises ended and his pupils began.

Abruptly the boy's icy glare broke, although his eyes were still darker than night. It was replaced by a wild-eyed stare as he whipped his head around to look at the long dark wisps surrounding them.

"W-What…?" he whispered, starting to shake. "Why…Why did the darkness come back to me? My Spirit's gone now…it shouldn't be coming anymore…"

"Wait, what was that? Someone took your spirit?!" hissed Davis, getting up off the ground. "Who was it? Who would do that?!"

"No, not my Spirit," Kouichi corrected, his onyx-hued eyes fixed on the tendrils of black around him. "The Spirit of the Legendary Warrior of Darkness. I once had it, but it's gone now, been gone for a while."

Davis narrowed his eyes.

"Legendary Warrior of Darkness?"

"Yeah," the black-haired boy affirmed, his eyelids drooping slightly as he held his head. "But that's over now. Why does the darkness return now of all times? It's supposed to be over. It's supposed to be over."

He squeezed his eyes tightly, as more shivers slid down his body.

Davis walked over to the boy guarded by the black.

"You're terrified of it, aren't you? Terrified that it'll control you again," the elder DigiDestined spoke in a solemn tone. "That's what happened last time, wasn't it? I dunno what you did to drive off the darkness before, but you've got to fight it. Fight the darkness."

"It's…it's not the darkness I'm afraid of," responded Kouichi, shaking his head and then squeezing his black eyes shut again. "It's…becoming…losing…"

"You kinda remind me of Willis, you know that? You don't have to fight this alone," Davis offered, holding out his hand. "Let me help you."

The dark tendrils suddenly became agitated, and one black tentacle swatted Davis's hand away while another hit him in the chest and knocked him on his back.

"Davis!" DemiVeemon exclaimed, running over to the stunned brunette. As the elder DigiDestined sat back up, he noticed the horror spiraling in Kouichi's eyes.

"My God, are you alright?!" he asked, the long wisps of obsidian mist growing taller around him, like iron bars. "I don't understand. I didn't want it to do that, but the darkness isn't listening to me. Why isn't it listening to me? It always listened to me before."

"Darkness is a fickle thing," Davis stated as he stood back up. "It'll serve you one moment, then eat you alive the next. Trust me, I know another DigiDestined who struggled with darkness too. Come with me. We can beat this."

He took one step forward, and Kouichi's eyes grew cold again.

"Don't," he commanded.

Davis froze.

"…Don't," Kouichi spoke again, his voice much quieter as his black eyes abruptly softened and his eyelids began to droop.

The black tendrils retreated back into the ground as Kouichi fell forward. Davis ran forward and caught him.

"Hey, Kouichi! Kouichi!" the elder DigiDestined called, but the only response he got was a faint moan.

IIIIII

"Should we go after the Greymon first, or the children being forced to digivolve?" questioned Gatomon, walking besides Kari on all fours as they strolled along the edge of the forest. Even though no one was out, the white feline with purple stripes decided it was safer to stay on all her paws instead of being caught standing on her hind legs. The sky was slowly growing darker.

"We better take care of this Greymon first. If it's as berserk as they say, it's very likely to go after innocent people, and we have to prevent that," Kari replied, holding a pink-and-grey cellphone up to her ear before slamming it shut and stuffing it into her pocket. "Why is it whenever there's trouble I can't get in touch with Davis? A DigiDestined is supposed to be ready for trouble at any moment."

"Well, it's not like anything major involving Digimon has happened in the real world since the D-Reaper incident," the cat with sky-hued eyes stated, her long ears perked up to pick up any suspicious noises. "There have been a few strays, but that's it. As for Davis, he's probably still running his noodle-cart around town and has forgotten to take his cellphone with him again."

The caramel-haired teacher sighed.

"Probably," she agreed, before halting her walk.

"Kari?" asked Gatomon, before looking forward.

Kari recognized her student, Zoë, immediately. The teenage blonde was walking down the opposite way, her lavender eyes looking drowsy. Lavender? But Kari thought her student had green eyes.

What also caught her attention, however, was a small orange-and-tan creature zipping around the girl's head, using its batwing-like ears to stay aloft. It was a Patamon, of course. Seeing one brought a stab of pain to her chest.

"Maybe you should go home," the Patamon was insisting in its usual squeaky voice, hovering over the blonde's shoulder. "I'm sure the others will be back soon. They wouldn't want you wandering around all sleepy like this."

"I don't want to go home," she answered dully. "I just want to know where the others are."

"Zoë!" Kari called out, she and Gatomon walking over to the lavender-eyed girl. "How have you been? I didn't know you were a DigiDestined."

Zoë lifted her head, eyes widening. The school instructor noticed all the twigs in her normally beautiful long hair, and all the cuts and smeared dirt on her arms and legs.

"DigiDestined? How did you know?"

"Well, this Patamon's your partner, isn't he?" asked the caramel-haired teacher, pointing to the orange-and-tan animal above the blonde's shoulder.

"Partner?" questioned the Patamon, cocking its head slightly. "We're friends, but I dunno if we count as partners."

"Do you have a DigiVice?" asked Gatomon.

"I did, but it's gone now," Zoë explained. "But what would that have to do with Patamon? It helped me out, not him."

"Helped _you_ out?" asked Kari, her eyes narrowing. "Zoë, do you – Zoë?"

The lavender-eyed girl was holding her head and blinking her eyes rapidly, the Patamon floating over her worriedly.

"Sorry," she said, smiling but still holding her head. "I think I had one too many cups of coffee this morning, and now it's starting to go to my-"

Zoë found herself squeezing her eyes tightly and holding up her arms across her face as a whirlwind whipped up around her, tossing her long blonde hair in all directions. Three sharp gusts, one after another, whizzed by Kari and Gatomon and almost blew them over. The first one crashed into a garbage can and sent it flying. The second one uprooted a fire hydrant, causing a huge gush of water to erupt from underground. The third one, barely missing Kari, came across a young tree and effortlessly snapped it in half.

The winds around Zoë grew calmer, although the air still circled around her unnaturally. Kari and Gatomon stared at the destruction behind them. Zoë lowered her arms and opened her eyes to see the results of the triple gale's temper tantrum herself.

"Not…Not again…" Zoë murmured, her eyes growing tired once more. "I'm…not a Legendary Warrior anymore. This shouldn't…Is Takuya right?"

"So you a_re _one of them," stated the caramel-haired teacher, reestablishing her calmness. "I was beginning to suspect it, after what you said about your DigiVice."

"…So you know about us, huh?" the Legendary Warrior of Wind spoke in a detached tone, before switching over to a more casual pitch. "But what just happened, that's not normal. Usually we have control over our powers, and we can only do stuff like that after we digivolve, not when we're human. I don't get it at all."

"You were saying something about Takuya earlier," Gatomon stated.

"Oh yeah, Takuya…" Zoë answered, rubbing her temples. "He was glowing when I talked to him earlier. He said he was digivolving, even though the Spirits were gone. He was terrified. Maybe…maybe that's what's happening to me…I've felt awful ever since I woke up this afternoon on the couch…don't even remember how I got there…but I've been feeling real achy and dizzy since…"

"She says she feels sick and stuff, but she won't go home," added the Patamon, resting on Zoë's shoulder.

"Well, what if my powers kicked in while I was at home?" Zoë asked. "I wouldn't _have_ a home after that…"

Kari folded her arms.

"Hmm…you've got a point…"

"Hey Kari!"

The elder female DigiDestined looked behind her to see Davis running over to her, with DemiVeemon dashing right behind him. The noodle-cart master was carrying a person over his shoulder, a person Kari took no time in identify.

"Kouichi!" the caramel-haired teacher exclaimed, her cry summoning Zoë and the Patamon to her side. "What happened to him?"

"Dude, the forces of darkness are trying to take this guy!" the brunette janitor shouted. "There was a bunch of darkness seeping out of the ground and trying to take over his mind and stuff. He can never remember anything because the evil darkness has been trying to brainwash him!"

"Darkness isn't evil!" Zoë protested loudly. "It's only the things in the darkness or what's using the darkness that's evil! Kouichi has darkness appearing around him because his element as a Legendary Warrior was darkness."

"Oh, and I suppose light is evil now, huh?" challenged Davis.

"It's possible! We had to fight an angel Digimon to save the Digital World!"

"What?! An angel Digimon?!"

"Will you two stop it?!" snapped Kari. "This isn't the time! Zoë, do you know where the rest of the previous Legendary Warriors are?"

"What are these Legendary Warriors everyone's talking about?" questioned Davis.

DemiVeemon lifted up his head and sniffed the air.

"Davis? Hey Davis!" the blue-and-white Digimon called. "Do you smell smoke?"

"Huh?" the brunette man replied, as he and the others also sniffed the air. "Yeah…yeah I do. Where's it coming from?"

"Over there! In the woods!" Gatomon exclaimed, pointing one of her gloved paws in the direction of the forest. A billowing tower of smoke rose up from the middle of the trees.

"It must be the rogue Agumon," Zoë stated.

"What rogue Agumon?!" Davis questioned. "Why won't anyone tell me anything around here?!"

"If you had kept your cellphone with you today, you'd already know," growled Kari, heading for the heart of the woods. "We'll explain everything along the way. Let's go!"

IIIIII

Willis had been expecting many strange things in Japan, when he had come from Colorado to visit a couple old friends. This, however, wasn't one of the things he had planned on, not this chaos of elements running rampant around him.

It all started on a walk, an innocent nature walk through the woods with his twin doggy-rabbit Digimon, Terriermon and Lopmon. The yellow-haired man with blue eyes did this sort of thing all the time, being a wanderer made by necessity. They had hiked their way through half the woods when an enormous orange dinosaur wearing a brown skull, a Greymon, came stomping his way.

Willis had been surprised by the fierce Digimon's appearance, of course, but it didn't make him panic. He occasionally came across stray Digimon like this one in his travels. He had once encountered a Monochromon while he was in Africa. He preferred to talk things out with the stray Digimon he came across, but this particular Digimon looked too vicious to be up for negotiations. He let Terriermon, white-and-green and always ready for a fight, digivolve into Gargomon.

A cartoonish yellow dog, a beat-up Doggymon, pounced from out of the woods and latched onto the Greymon's tail with its large jaws. The purple-striped lizard flicked the golden canine off its tail with ease, and it crashed into a nearby tree, knocked unconscious.

He heard anxious shouts from nearby, teenager's shouts. That was the first sign that something was going to go wrong. Two boys, a brown-haired boy with goggles and a black-haired boy with a dark bandana on his head, ran over to the Doggymon, asking if it was alright. The Doggymon came to and gave out a groggy reply he couldn't hear.

The Greymon was treading heavily toward the boys and the injured Doggymon, each step making the trees shiver. Gargomon prepared his attack.

Then the brown-haired boy looked up, his face twisted into a snarl. Willis could've sworn that his eyes changed from auburn to blazing orange. The one thing Willis was sure of, however, was that the air grew to be unbearably torrid.

That's when the real pandemonium began.

Suddenly fire was everywhere. Trees were bursting into flame without warning. Fireballs danced in the air, some of which threw themselves onto the Greymon's body, though with little effect. Others targeted Gargomon instead, leaving the larger doggy-rabbit too busy evading the flames to attack the Greymon. The other boy, the black-haired boy, was yelling to the brown-haired one, but his words had no effect.

As the Greymon began charging its Nova Blast in his mouth, suddenly the black-haired by's expression became more bestial, and his eyes shifted from pale blue to white, he was sure of it. A pillar of light erupted from the ground, striking the oversized reptile in the jaw and interrupting its attack. Now towers of radiance were exploding everywhere, as well as the swirling flames. Willis had to hastily leap out of the way when he felt the ground underneath his feet quiver intensely. Not a second later after he had jumped, an especially large eruption of luminosity shot forth from where he stood, soon followed by a hail of fireballs. Gargomon, needing the sleek body and agility of his Ultimate form, digivolved into the sky-soaring Rapidmon and picked up the yellow-haired man and Lopmon.

Willis had hardly the time to wrap his mind around humans summoning light and fire when the other two kids showed up, riding on a Boarmon no less. The larger one of the two, a chubby boy with caramel hair, wasted no time in throwing his own power into the fight. His expression turning cold as his golden-brown eyes turned yellow, his hair standing on end as he released thunderbolt after thunderbolt into the fight, three of them striking the Digimon opponent. He had also given his younger friend and the Boarmon a shock each time, so the flaming pig stopped to let the children dismount. As soon as the small boy with the mushroom hat stepped onto the ground, violent tremors swept through him as his green-blue eyes abruptly paled to ice blue. Suddenly calm, the young boy did little more than glare in the direction of the Greymon when ice spikes punched out of the ground and the orange dinosaur's arm became encased in ice. It roared. During the chaos the Boarmon put the hurt Doggymon onto his back and carried him off, presumably to a safer place.

It was this elemental bedlam he was beholding when his two old friends, Kari and Davis, came flying onto the scene with Gatomon, a lavender-eyed blonde, a groggy black-eyed boy, and a Patamon in tow. They were all riding on the back of Davis's Champion-level Digimon, the blue-and-white dragon ExVeemon.

"Willis?! Rapidmon?! What are you Yankees doing here?!" Davis exclaimed, as ExVeemon flew up to Rapidmon's side.

"Who'd ya expect, the Red Sox?" Rapidmon answered in his usual sarcastic tone.

The two airborne Digimon had to briefly separate to avoid a rogue lightning bolt.

"I would tell you what's this is all about," Willis began. "…But I honestly have no idea."

"Willis the genius doesn't know what's going on? That's a first," teased Davis. "It wouldn't happen to have anything to do with a buncha kids throwing elemental attacks around, would it?"

"Hey, how'd you know?!" Rapidmon exclaimed with genuine astonishment.

"It's a long story," the brunette DigiDestined replied, before a screeching roar was heard.

The Greymon came into view. Or rather, limped into view, for it right leg was covered in ice and burns. The rest of its gigantic body bore wounds as well, results of the elemental attacks that had hit their mark. Despite its myriad injuries, it still snarled fiercely. It began to open its huge maw to fire a Nova Blast.

The expressions of the two children aboard ExVeemon first became shocked, but then immediately grew feral, as a violent wind blew in and a lake of darkness bled from the scarred ground.

"These kids too?!" Rapidmon exclaimed, as green robotic rabbit darted away a few feet. "Geez, was there some mutant toxic spill or something we didn't hear about?"

The malevolent wind blew over a few trees and the Greymon, causing it to fall hard onto its back. Multiple black tentacles rose from the black mass the skull-wearing dinosaur had fallen on, binding the terrible lizard like a demonic tar pit and stripping nearby trees of their limbs. Even its giant snout was bound by the tendrils, leaving it unable to breathe fire. Now a stationary, if wriggling, target, the other elemental attacks became more focused and started striking the Greymon with more accuracy.

Willis stared at the sight partly in wonder but mostly in horror. Looking back, he saw Davis and Kari trying to snap the blonde girl and the black-haired boy out of their predatory trance. The children made no response and bore as animal of an expression as before, but their bodies were shaking. The Patamon watched it all with wide-eyed amazement.

"They're just children," he heard Kari say, snapping her fingers in front of the girl's eyes to try to get her attention. "How could anyone, human or Digimon, do something like this to children?"

The Greymon finally disintegrated into fragments of data under the relentless attacks, though the elemental onslaught persisted on the spot of land on which the great lizard had fallen. The deluge of power raged on for another full minute before it abruptly stopped, leaving the forest dead silent except for a few trees burning like candles.

The other children stumbled out onto the scene, eyes wide but still hued in inhuman colors. The boy and girl on ExVeemon snapped out of their beastly reverie and shuddered at the sight before them, but still asked to be let off to join the other dazed children. They slowly paced around the wounded area, where the few trees left standing were either charred black and on fire, stripped of all their limbs, or frozen solid. Ice spikes and glowing embers littered the ashy ground.

Though they wandered aimlessly, eventually all six children met in the middle. They gathered in a circle, their faces turned to the disaster scene and their back turned to each other.

"Oh my god," spoke one of them, the fire-bearer with the brown hair and the goggles. "What have we done?"

"Takuya! Everyone! Are all of you allright?!" yelled the Boarmon, as it stampeded out of the remaining woods and to the isolated circle of youths. "Don't worry, I've gotten Doggymon back to the Digital World safe and sound, so he should be fine. The Greymon, is it-"

"Yeah, it's gone," the boy called Takuya answered quietly.

"That's what I thought. It would be either you guys or it that would be left when I got back," the living barbeque stated. "…I'm sorry that I wasn't much help."

"It's okay," responded Takuya. "…Hey Boarmon?"

The fiery swine turned to the boy with the goggles.

"Yes?"

The brunette lifted his outstandingly orange eyes to the smoky sky.

"…It's time to go back to the Digital World, isn't it?"

_IIIIIIIIII_

_I hope the beginning part of Willis's POV wasn't boring. I didn't want to spend 20 pages writing out a fight scene that wasn't that important. And I have a feeling that some people are going to find the first part with Davis unintentionally funny b/c of Davis's gallant ignorance on the subject. At least I found it funny._

_And since I know the story's plot now, I can now give chapter previews_

_**NEXT CHAPTER: **__The former(?) Legendary Warriors didn't know what to expect when they arrived in the Digital World, but they never expected this. And how can they turn down destiny, especially if it can save so many? And where one set of DDs go, another is sure to follow. Suspicions of true identities help to spur the chase... _


	8. The Dark Price of Peace and Innocence

_Hey there, here with the next chapter. It's on the long side and it's a bit slow since there's a lot of explaining and setting up to do, but it's important._

_For those who are curious, no the Tamers will not appear. They will be mentioned, however. And no, the Digimon at the start of this chapter isn't who you think it is, though that should soon become obvious enough as you read the chapter._

_Revision Notes: Nothing special, mostly fixing pronouns with Digimon. I never know when I should call them 'he', 'she', or 'it'. XD _

_Disclaimer: No I don't own Digimon Frontier, or any of the Digimon that appear in this chapter. But I do have a hamburger waiting for me upstairs._

**Data Set 8: The Dark Price of Peace and Innocence**

A feminine Digimon slowly sauntered around the huge stone room, sprinkling the contents of an amethyst bottle across the scarlet floor as she walked. She was the height of a typical adult human, with long silver hair flowing down her back. Her body was encased in golden armor, which shone slightly whenever she passed under one of the openings in the roof. On her face was the yellow mask of a fox, which covered everything but her mouth.

She stopped in front of an elaborately gilded throne, one of six in the circular space. Here she poured a more generous amount of the clear liquid onto the royal seat, took out a perfectly white cloth, and carefully polished it. As she did so, she looked up, seeing the clouded sky through the opening directly above her.

_Such extremes…The Digital World has always needed such extremes to survive. First there were the ones partnered with Digimon to help the Digimon digivolve, then there were the ones who fused with their Digimon to unlock their full potential, then there were ones who became Digimon themselves with the help of the Spirits, and now…_

"Sakuyamon!" exclaimed an excited voice, as a heavily bandaged Doggymon scampered down the hall and into the round chamber. "I've just heard! The Divine Bearers are going to arrive soon!"

The Digimon known as Sakuyamon finished up her cleaning of the throne.

"I had the feeling they would. We'll need to finish the preparations. The Digital World commands it."

IIIIII

"Are you sure you want to go?" asked Kari, as Takuya and the others begin to head for the door. "You're still so ill, and it's gotten dark out."

"Yeah, at least let us come with you," Davis added. "It's been awhile since I've been able to visit the Digital World anyway. I wouldn't mind going back for a visit, would you DemiVeemon?"

"Not at all," his blue-and-white partner chirped back.

Takuya shook his head, as did the others.

"This is our problem. We're the ones that'll have to fix it," the orange-eyed boy answered, smiling a little. "Besides, you've really helped us out by letting us stay at your house to rest up and telling our parents we were staying over for a study group. We wouldn't want to cause you any more trouble."

"Besides, if we can't control our powers, then we can't stay here in the real world until we get back to normal. We could hurt someone," Kouji added, adjusting the backpack strap on his shoulder. "And other Digimon like that Greymon might come into the real world, and someone will have to stay here to make sure they don't attack the city. Your Digimon are pretty strong, so they should be able to handle it, right?"

"Of course," Gatomon replied, nodding her head firmly. "But if you guys run into trouble, don't hesitate to call us on our cellphones for backup."

"They can do that?" asked DemiVeemon, giving the purple-striped feline a wide-eyed look.

"Sure, Willis tested it out a while back," replied Terriermon. "He called the pizza place for a pizza, and they answered. Of course they couldn't find us since we were in the Digital World."

"Then what was the point?" asked Takuya.

"There wasn't. Willis was just drunk."

Kari raised an eyebrow at the fair-haired man.

"…And why were you in the Digital World while you were drunk?"

"Hey, it wasn't like I went there drunk!" Willis protested. "It's just this Floramon gave me some clear stuff that I thought was water, so I drank it and got drunk. End of story."

The caramel-haired teacher heaved a big sigh. Davis laughed.

"…Anyway, you can contact us at any time, so if you run into trouble let us know."

"Well, we should only be gone for a second, literally," assured JP, the yellow-eyed boy massaging his arm some. "Time goes by a lot faster in the Digital World than in the real world. By the time you wash the dishes, we'll already be back for more food. Hahaha!"

"Actually, the processing rate of the Digital World greatly varies," Willis stated, rubbing his pink-and-brown doggy rabbit Lopmon behind the ears. "Sometimes it's really fast, but other times it's pretty slow. The processing rate determines how fast time flows there. I like to check on it regularly to see if it's a good time to go to the Digital World."

"Says the genius computer person who had nothing better to do with his time," grumbled Davis under his breath.

"I heard that, you know," the blond computer whiz replied nonchalantly. "Anyway, it's been unusually slow the past couple of weeks. I'd say that our time and their time are about synchronized right now, in fact."

"Really?" asked Takuya. "…Maybe I should go back to my house and say goodbye to my parents and my bro first. We could be away for weeks, months even…"

The orange-eyed brunette suddenly winced and grabbed his stomach. The three elder DigiDestined and his fellow travelers gave him worried looks. He smiled brightly in reply.

"Just leave it to us, we'll cover you," assured Davis, smiling back and giving him a peace sign.

Takuya nodded.

"Thanks."

"We better get going," stated Kouji, opening the door. "Boarmon and Patamon are waiting for us at the portal in the park, and we don't know when our powers might suddenly kick in again. Or when we might digivolve."

"Yeah, you're right," the orange-eyed goggle-bearer agreed solemnly, before turning to Kari with a cheerful grin. "Well, just tell my folks that I almost missed the plane for my trip to wherever 'cause I slept in too late. They'll believe it."

"I'm sure they will," replied the caramel-haired teacher with a smirk. "Be careful."

"We will," they all chorused, as they exited through the door.

"Bye!"

"Later!"

"Farewell!"

"Cya!"

"Chow!"

Takuya paused, gave the elder DigiDestined thumbs up, and closed the door behind him.

IIIIII

The buildings looked so vivid to him now, Takuya realized, as he passed them by on the way to the park. He didn't know why. Maybe it was because things the city of Shibuya was starting to light up because the world was growing blacker and colder. Maybe it was because it would be at least a few weeks before he ever saw them again, and his mind was trying to take it all in before he left for the trip. Or maybe it was his persistent fever playing tricks on his senses. He wondered how the buildings would look to him when he got back.

But that wasn't important now, as Kouji went into another coughing fit and Kouichi rubbed his back. Kouji had been coughing a lot the past few months, Takuya realized, but he had never really noticed it until now. The black-haired boy's twin Kouichi had been plagued with constant headaches and memory problems. The lighter-eyed bandana had even mentioned it to him a couple days ago. Zoë had been having frequent dizzy spells that sometimes made her pass out. Tommy always had chills no matter how warmly he dressed and was always tired. JP always had his arms and legs cramping up on him, which made long walks like this hard on him.

How could he have been so blind to their suffering? He, who was supposed to look after them and protect them?

They met Boarmon and Patamon in the park sooner than he expected, the two Digimon waiting for them inside the small stone shack that housed the portal to the Digital World. As the element-bound children slipped into the tiny building, Takuya wondered if they would have to save the Digital World again in order to go back to normal. If that was what it took, so be it. But if it was a just quick trip, that would be fine too.

He was the last to step into the portal. He didn't know why that was. Probably because he was too busy zoning out and thinking about stuff like this. As he grew closer to the gateway of the Digital World, a mess of silver mist and data fragments floating at the end of the tunnel, he felt an unsettling numbness soak through his skin and into his body. But he couldn't have stopped his legs from moving ahead if he had strapped fifty pounds of weight to each one.

One step forward into the shining mass, and he took the fall.

IIIIII

"What's wrong, Gatomon?" questioned Kari, now washing dishes that had been used in their dinner with the elemental children. They had told them so much, about their adventure, about the Spirits, about their misfortunes, about the Digimon they befriended and fought along the way. And it was told with such cheerfulness and laughter, as if it had been a camping trip.

Davis was lounging on the couch, flipping through the channels and looking sulky. In a recliner nearby Willis was reading a traveler's guide to Japan, though he had not turned but two pages since he started reading it. DemiVeemon, Terriermon, and Lopmon were playing a game of _Sorry! _and making up new rules as they went along.

Gatomon, however, paced back and forth behind Kari, her eyes narrowed and her tail swishing back and forth.

"Kari…" the white feline began, stopping and looking up at her human partner. "…Those Digimon, the Boarmon, Doggymon, and Patamon, those kids said that they were their old friends from the trip of the Digital World, right?"

"Yes they did."

"And when they exited the Digital World, only a second or so had passed in the real world, right?"

"Yeah," Kari answered, picking at some cheese stuck to a plate with her fingernail. "The Digital World's time has been much faster than the real world until-"

She paused.

"But wait, that can't-"

"See the problem?"

"What's up?" asked Davis, as he paused his channel surfing and Willis looked up from his magazine. The abandoned TV was blathering on about a type of wasp that laid its eggs in prey caterpillars.

"Davis," Kari began. "Until a couple of weeks ago, the Digital World was fast-forward. A minute to us would have been a millennium to them."

"Yeah, so?"

"So by the time Takuya and the others had left the train station, many eons had already passed in the Digital World. Their adventure would be ancient history, and almost all of the Digimon would've gone through several rebirth cycles…"

"But that means there's no way that Boarmon and the others could have been their original friends!" exclaimed Willis, standing up and drawing the attention of the other Digimon. "As excellent as a Digimon's memories are of their previous life, they only last for a few cycles. Even if they were the original Digimon they knew, they'd never remember that!"

"Hey, you're right!" echoed Davis, also standing up. "But then that means-"

"They're imposters," the ice-eyed blond stated flatly.

"Imposters luring those children into the Digital World," Kari added, forgetting about the dishes in the sink. "We've got to go there. Now."

IIIIII

Takuya could hear the Digital World before he could see it. In the blinding black-and-white-checkered tunnels connecting the portal in the real world to the Digital World, he could hear many warped voices echoing from the other end of the twisting way. If it wasn't for Boarmon and Patamon leading them, the group of sickened children would have never have known which of the branching tunnels to take in this sense-destroying passageway.

Another sharp stab of pain jabbed his stomach, causing Takuya to clutch at his abdomen as a new wave of heat passed over him. Ahead of him he heard Kouji coughing and rasping and Zoë complaining about dizziness. Looking up as his gut continued to involuntarily tie itself into knots, the goggle-bearer noticed that all his companions were starting to give off a yellow light. When he gazed down at his hand, he saw that he too was giving off a golden glow.

_Of course it's going to get worse, if the source is in the Digital World. But that just shows that we're going the right way._

The voices from the other side grew clearer, and now he could pick up on some of the things they were saying.

"-Be here soon! We've gotta-"

"-Can't believe it-"

"-Food ready-"

"- Bearers, what will they-"

Suddenly the black-and-white tunnel became completely white and bright, and for a few moments Takuya couldn't tell what was up or down or whether he was moving forward or backward. Then the absolute white gave way to green-brown stone walls and a glistening red floor, and suddenly the orange-eyed brunette found himself falling.

They all landed in a heap on a highly convenient large green cushion on the floor. Takuya, who had landed on top of the pile since he was last, was just gathering his bearings when he noticed Digimon of all kinds stopped and staring slack-jawed at them. He couldn't help but smile and chuckle; a pile of glowing humans must have been an odd sight.

"We're here," announced Boarmon, as he squeezed his way out of the bottom of the stack of people, with Patamon hovering nearby. "These are the humans."

Various sounds of astonishment and excitement erupted from the crowd of Digimon. Takuya noticed that most of them were Rookie-level, with a few Champion-level among them.

"Uh, hey there," the glowing goggle-bearer welcomed with a grin as the human heap untangled itself. "Uh, we were wondering-"

The mass of Digimon swarmed around the shining children, bombarding them with greetings and questions.

"Such an honor to be in your presence, humans!"

"Wow, so these are humans! They look different than they do in the book."

"So there is a real world? What's it like?"

"Is it true that humans created the Digital World?"

"W-Whoa! Wait a second!" Takuya interrupted, holding up his hands and smiling nervously.

"Stay back and show them some respect!" barked Boarmon, stomping down on the floor and letting out a large snort. The pack of data-made creatures abruptly hushed and fled a few feet back.

"Hey, you didn't have to be that harsh," stated JP, giving the living barbeque a surprised look.

Boarmon turned around and kneeled on one knee.

"My apologies, humans of prophecy," the flaming pig spoke, his eyes looking at the floor. "Everyone has been so eager of your coming, they could not help themselves. So I had to take authority."

"Wait, what do you mean by _humans of prophecy_?" questioned Kouji somewhat hoarsely, before clearing his throat. "We came to fix our powers, not because we were called here."

"The emergence of your elements meant that the prophecy was ready to be fulfilled," Boarmon explained, staying in the same position. "I apologize for not telling you of the prophecy beforehand, but we had to make sure you were ready before we brought you here."

"What is this prophecy, exactly?" questioned Tommy, stepping forward.

"Do you not remember?" questioned a feminine voice from the hall beyond the posse of Digimon. "That is not surprising, since it has been many millennia since you have last stepped foot here, if the ancient records are correct."

From out of the shadowy corridor stepped out a woman-like Digimon wearing a yellow fox mask and golden armor. Her metal staff bore one large ring with several smaller rings hooked to it. The other Digimon parted for her like a sea as she walked up to the radiant children. She gave a gracious bow.

"Greetings, Divine Bearers. I am Sakuyamon. I am the head priestess of the Temple of The Timeless. I shall explain everything."

IIIIII

"Ooh man…my head…" groaned Davis.

The group of elder DigiDestined had expected a loopy trip. They had not expected, however, all the alternate paths in those black-and-white tunnels. It was a miracle they hadn't gotten separated in the bamboozle of the voyage. Which paths Takuya and the others had taken, they had no idea. The trio prayed that they would be close to wherever the element-bound children had ended up.

Now they found themselves waking up on a barren piece of land, looking up at a clouded sky.

"Woo, that one was a doozy, huh Davis?" spoke Veemon, DemiVeemon's Rookie form. He had automatically digivolved during the trip. The blue-and-white coloring and zigzag ears were the same, but now he was more humanoid in form and had better-developed arms and legs. He was also now double the size of his previous form.

"Is everyone-" Gatomon began, before her mouth fell open. "Uh…"

The other three Digimon were also unusually quiet, staring at their partners.

"What?" the three elder DigiDestined questioned at once, before touching their throats and looking at the DigiDestined next to them. With startled cries they backed away from each other.

"Huh?! No way!" exclaimed Davis, examining himself. "We're kids again!"

They had all reverted to their 13-year-old states. Kari's caramel hair was much shorter now, and she had on a bright pink top and khaki shorts, certainly not the kind of clothes she wore nowadays. Davis's somewhat tamed hair had gone completely wild again, and he wore a dark blue coat with flames and torn-up jeans. Willis had on a dark green hoodie with sleek black gloves and dark sweatpants.

"Yahoo! This is awesome!" exclaimed the young Davis, putting his previously undersized goggles over his eyes and running around with his arms spread out, making mock airplane sounds. Veemon gladly joined him. "Man, just like old times, huh Willis?"

"You could say that again. And Kari's just as cute now as she was back then," Willis answered, smiling roguishly and putting his arm around the caramel-haired girl to draw her closer.

"Hey, you cut that out! She's mine, I tell you!" announced Davis, dashing over to the scene. "You probably already have a bunch of girls drooling over you in other countries anyway."

"Oh god, not this again…" Kari muttered to herself.

"But I don't get it," commented Willis, studying his coat sleeves, which were embroidered with white bird's wings. "This never happened to me before when I came to the Digital World."

"I don't get it either," admitted Kari.

"Oh wait, I bet it was that Juggernaut Net that the Tamers installed between worlds recently," the fair-haired child concluded, smacking his palm downward into his fist.

"The what?" asked Davis, putting his goggles on top of his head.

"You know, that safety program that's supposed to dedigivolve any high-level Digimon to the Rookie level if they try to enter the real world," Willis explained, folding his arms. "Maybe it has a similar effect on human adults entering the Digital World. Humans become data like everything else when they come here, after all."

"Dude, you mean we'll turn back into adults when we go back?" questioned the brown-eyed gogglehead. "Man, and here I was thinking I could be young forever."

"Well either way that Hypno Head Yamaki guy's gonna be in for a real shock when he first comes to visit," replied Terriermon, hopping onto Willis's shoulder. "You think those Tamers are gonna listen to him if he's a kid?"

"Hey guys," called out Lopmon from a little ways off. "I think you better take a look at this."

With curious looks on their faces, they came over to where the floppy-eared doggy-rabbit stood and froze.

What they stood upon was one small island suspended in the air, just one among dozens of desolate land fragments, loosely connected by black strings and narrow stone bridges. In the distance was a giant stone castle with six spires at its center. Not a Digimon was in sight.

"Oh man, this place has had better days," commented the white-and-green doggy-rabbit on Willis's shoulder. "Man, something did a number to this place."

"Looks like we were pretty lucky," stated Davis, surveying the area with one hand over his eyes. "We could've ended up falling into that big abyss instead."

"No kidding," Willis replied dryly, his blue eyes gazing down into the unknown blackness lingering underneath all the airborne islands. A bit of the island's edge crumbled away and fell to the great darkness.

"Well at least this way we'll be able to spot the kid's easier, right Davis?" assured Veemon, looking up to his now-young partner. "I mean, we're pretty much the only ones out here."

"Do you smell them anywhere, Lopmon?" questioned the blue-eyed boy, looking down to his brown-and-pink Digimon. Terriermon's twin paused and sniffed the air.

"Nope, sorry," he replied, jumping onto Willis's free shoulder.

"Well, I guess we should head for that castle out there," responded the blond brainiac, pointing to the stone palace on the horizon. "Looks like our best bet. If the kids aren't there, then maybe we'll find some Digimon who could give us directions to somewhere they might be."

"Or it could have some evil Digimon who wants to take over the Digital World," the young goggle-bearer countered as he folded his arms, gazing at the imposing building like he expected mutant spiders and vampires to start crawling out of it.

"What Digital World? There's nothing here but a bunch of floating rocks!" piped up Terriermon, as he and his blond partner began to cross the nearest thin rock bridge. The others soon followed.

"Hmm…you've got a point," Davis replied, trying very hard not to look down at the blackness just below the skinny overpass of stone. "Maybe those kids were brought here to fight some evil Digimon. I mean, isn't that usually why we DigiDestined get dragged down to the Digital World in the first place?"

"But with their powers as wild as they are now, they're probably more dangerous than any evil Digimon they're supposed to defeat," Willis answered, holding his arms out to keep his balance while his twin Digimon rode on his shoulders.

"Aren't those Tamer people supposed to look after the Digital World anyway, with their full-time access to it and stuff?" protested Davis, trying not to step on Veemon's tail. "Sure don't seem to be doing a good job."

"Last thing I heard, they were doing some massive building projects to get ready for full-scale observation of the Digital World, like extra towers and stuff. That Juggernaut Net I mentioned earlier is part of that," Willis replied, carefully trying to get through an especially curvy part of the bridge. "But all that stuff's still going to take several months. And besides, they probably still think that the Digital World's time is on fast-forward. It's hard to keep an eye on a world if it's in a different century every time you step into it."

"Well…I guess that makes sense…" the brown-haired youngster admitted, putting his hands behind his head. "But still, it burns me up how everyone admires them but no one gives us a hoot. It wasn't like we weren't fighting the D-Reaper too. And the way they fuse with their Digimon to reach the Mega level…I dunno, it just creeps me out for some reason. I mean, that _can't_ be good for them…"

"Now Davis…" Kari began, her feline Digimon walking ahead of her.

"Actually, I agree with Davis for once," interrupted Willis. "I don't like the sound of this…Bio-Merging, I think they call it. That's a lot of risk to both the Digimon and the Tamer. I mean, I don't even want to think what would happen if they got attacked while the Digimon and human were combining. And what if the Digimon got infected by a virus? The Tamer would be at their Digimon's mercy, and that's assuming that the virus doesn't affect them too…"

"Besides, aren't Takuya and the others proof that data and flesh shouldn't be mixed like that?" added Lopmon, as the group began to step off the bridge and onto the next island. "I mean, all it did was hurt them a lot."

"Those kids…" Kari began, looking up to the clouded sky. "They have such beautiful smiles, but…"

"They're scared, you can tell," Willis finished for her, also looking up to the unclear heavens. "They've been in a lot of pain these past few months, both physically and mentally. And I'm sure they have their scars from their first adventure into the Digital World. To be pulled back in while they're so weak…"

The girl with the short caramel hair stayed silent.

"Hey guys, a Digimon!" Davis exclaimed, pointing ahead of them.

Kari and Willis peered over his shoulder to get a better look.

Leaning against a broken boulder, a book resting in its black-gloved hands, was a humanoid canine about as tall as the now-children DigiDestined. Its pale blue fur contrasted starkly with all the dark belts fastened all over its arms and legs and its ragged black scarf. Its sharply slanted eyes appeared vaguely restless as they traveled across the page.

"Do you think it's a friendly Digimon?" Willis asked Davis in a hushed voice.

"Well, I don't know any bloodthirsty Digimon that are bookworms," Davis answered in a not-so-hushed voice.

The wolf-like Digimon suddenly shifted its eyes in the direction of the falsely young DigiDestined and jolted up to a defensive position, the book dropped and forgotten. It growled slightly before its eyes widened and it relaxed its battle pose.

"Humans…" the lanky demon dog spoke, its boyish but raspy voice tinged with astonishment as it straightened up into a casual standing position. "Can't believe…but no, you aren't _those _humans, are you? You wouldn't be out here if you were."

"Wait, you saw other humans pass through here?!" questioned Davis, stepping forward. "What did they look like? Were there six of them?"

"No, I've seen no other humans. You three are the first I've ever seen," answered the slanted-eye canine. "I apologize if I scared you. I hadn't expected to see any humans at all, much less out here. My name is Strabimon."

"No need to apologize," Gatomon replied with a serene smile. "Kari tends to get surprised easily when she's reading too. What _are_ you reading, by the way?"

Strabimon turned and picked up the abandoned tome that lay on the ground beside him. He held the plain green cover up for the DigiDestined and their Digimon to see.

"The Book of Bokomon."

"The Book of Bokomon?" questioned Davis. "Hey, didn't Takuya say that one of his old friends was a Digimon named Bokomon that traveled with them?"

"Takuya?" Strabimon echoed, carefully rolling the name on his tongue as if to analysis its taste. "Is he one of the Divine Bearers? He must be, if he knew the faithful scribe Bokomon."

"Divine Bearers?" asked Willis, his blue eyes narrowing.

"Well, I suppose you humans may refer to them as something else," stated the pale-furred Digimon, handing Kari the plain book. "Everything about the Divine Bearers is recorded in here, according to the observations of the faithful scribe."

After studying the worn and dirty cover for a moment, Kari opened the tome.

IIIIII

"Man, I can't believe this!" Takuya exclaimed, laughing as he flipped through the carbon-copy of Bokomon's book. "Wow, who would've thought his old book would have been so popular? Hahaha!"

The shining children were all in the elaborate dining area of the Temple of The Timeless, seated with Sakuyamon at the rosewood table in the middle of the room. The place was made to look like it was straight out of a human home, unlike the blunt brick and stone of the previous hallways and chambers. Here, the stones were painted white, the scarlet floor was covered with rugs of milder hues, and the walls were covered with poorly painted pictures and marred photographs. There was even a TV in the corner of the room, although it was only a model, and there was a fireplace that cackled with unheated fire. Six brightly-colored couches were placed helter-skelter throughout the room. It almost felt like the real world. Almost.

"Well, it _was _a book about the newest heroes of the Digital World," stated Kouji, gnawing on a bone, having stripped his lamb leg clean of meat. "How could it not be popular?"

"You know, chewing on that isn't good for your teeth," the glowing gogglehead teased, as he popped hot peppers into his mouth like candy. He savored the heat they produced on his tongue as he thumbed through the pages of his copy of the tome. "But wow, it's got everything right down to the letter. Here's the sketch of my Human-type fire Spirit, Agnimon. Man, I miss that guy… And there's your Human-type Spirit, Kouji, Lobomon."

"Yeah," the white-eyed boy replied, still chewing on the bone as another dish with a whole chicken on it was brought to him. "Doesn't seem like a year since we've seen them, huh?"

It was a fine feast they were having. Kouji ate nothing but meat, enjoying the leftover bones on the side. His twin Kouichi was also unusually carnivorous, washing his meals down with an excessive amount of milk. Tommy ate anything he could get his hands on, but he especially loved the fish. JP gobbled up things the others wouldn't touch, like mossy wood chips, and drowned everything in sap before he put it in his mouth. Zoë devoured many exotic fruits and buckets of sunflower seeds. Takuya himself was far from picky, but he found himself favoring the meat and the spicy foods. The chronic pain in his stomach only let him eat so much at a time, however. There was silverware set out, but none of them bothered to use any of it.

"The food isn't bad, is it?" asked a concerned waiter Agumon, as Takuya put down the salty slice of pork he was about to eat and laid a hand over his stomach.

"No, the food's great," the shining goggle-bearer assured with a smile while his hand remained on his stomach. "Been having these stomachaches for a while. Nothing to do with the food."

Takuya's eyelids drooped slightly.

"You can lie down on one of the couches if you're not feeling well," Sakuyamon offered, her meal consisting of nothing more than a glass of water. "That's the reason we put them in this room, in case you needed rest."

"I'll be fine."

"Aren't you going to eat anything Sakuyamon?" questioned JP, holding a half-eaten holly-leaf sandwich drenched in oak sap. "I mean, I feel kinda bad pigging out here while you just have water."

"It's alright, you happiness is enough to sustain me," the fox-masked Digimon reassured.

As Takuya carefully began to eat again, despite his stomach's protests, he noticed a lanky Digimon peeking into the room with wide eyes. It was a lion-like Digimon about his height, with a fluffy orange mane and bright green eyes. The orange-eyed boy gave the young Digimon a smile.

The humanoid creature startled at the silent greeting, and Takuya saw tears form in its eyes before it dashed away into the dark hall. The shining goggle-bearer's grin faded in confusion.

"But you didn't have Boarmon bring us here just so we could have a good dinner, did you?" Kouji asked Sakuyamon, before going into a brief coughing fit. "There's big trouble in the Digital World, isn't there?"

"..Yes, just as the prophecy foretold," stated the lady Digimon with long silver hair. "The Digital world is breaking down, and the humans carrying the Spirits, the Divine Bearers, have returned."

"But we don't have the Spirits anymore," pointed out Tommy, putting down the huge salmon he had been tearing into with his teeth. "The Spirits left us right before we returned to the real world. We don't even have our DigiVices anymore since they turned back into cellphones."

"That's right," Zoë added, holding a partially eaten kiwi in her hand. "We even said goodbye to them. Kazemon and Agnimon and Lobomon and Kumamon and Beetlemon and Lowemon and-"

She froze.

"What is it?" asked Takuya, looking over to her.

"…But those were just the Human-type Spirits," the lavender-eyed blonde continued. "We said goodbye to the Human-type Spirits, but the Beast Spirits…we never saw them leave."

"The Beast Spirits?" questioned the shining brunette. "Now that you mention it…"

The orange-eyed boy put one hand on his chest. The odd warmth inside his heart abruptly grew hotter.

"…BurningGreymon?"

IIIIII

"BurningGreymon, KendoGarurumon, Zephyrmon, MetalKabuterimon, Korikakakumon, JagerLowemon. These are the Beast Spirits of Fire, Light, Wind, Thunder, Ice, and Darkness. They are the other half of the Legendary Warriors," Strabimon explained, flipping through the Book of Bokomon to show their illustrations.

The first was a masked red dragon with wings of fire. The second had a large wolf encased in white, blue and gold armor. The third showed a woman-like creature with tawny wings and a mask over the lower part of her face. The fourth was a blue tank-like creature vaguely resembling an oversized beetle. The fifth was a massive white bear-like monster with twin axes and long braids. The last one showed a huge lion covered in black-and-gold armor.

"I remember Takuya mentioning them, but they didn't make that big a deal out of it," said Kari, studying the drawings of the fierce-looking Spirits. "So the Legendary Warriors were really made up of two Digimon, a Human-type Digimon and a Beast-type Digimon."

"Yes," the lithe canine replied, nodding. "The Beast Spirits wielded more power than the Human-type Spirits, but their pride and wildness made them harder to control for the Divine Bearers at first."

"You mean these Spirits could possess them?" questioned Willis, examining the drawings in the book.

"Yes, but eventually they were able to make the Beast Spirits respect them, and once they gained their respect they became forever loyal and eager to guard them from all harm."

Strabimon raised his head from the tome.

"It was those Spirits that were assigned to the Divine Bearers to protect them if any threat, Digimon or otherwise, tried to hurt them, or if their help was needed in the Digital World once more."

"Wait, those Beast Spirits were still inside them?!" exclaimed Davis, causing the lanky humanoid canine to jump. "Did they know that?!"

"…I would assume so," the light-blue wolf responded, fur bristling slightly from the brunette's reaction. "Even if they were not told, I'm sure they could sense their presence within them."

The now-child DigiDestined began to shake, his face twisting into a scowl.

"The Beast Spirits…It's been those damn Beast Spirits all this time…tearing them up like that…"

"…What are you talking about?" asked Strabimon, his fur rising up more.

"Those Beast Spirits, how were they supposed to protect the children?" questioned Willis, now scanning the words of the tome.

"By digivolving them, of course," stated the demon dog with the black scarf, hunkering down slightly. "…What better way is there to protect someone?"

Willis glared at the ground. His twin Digimon gave him curious looks.

"No wonder they've been hurting so much," the iced-eyed pseudo-youth began. "Data and flesh are two completely different substances. Here in the Digital World anything that comes here is converted to data, but that's not true of the real world. Anything that was data before will remain data, drawing its power to exist from electronic sources."

"I don't understand what you mean," stated Strabimon, his slanted eyes locked onto Willis.

"Well, I guess you wouldn't, if you've never been to the real world before," admitted the fair-haired boy, shaking his head. "But what I'm trying to say here is that those Beast Spirits have been trying to force those kids to digivolve when they can't. The Spirits are still data, but the kids are flesh. Flesh can't suddenly reform itself like data. They're asking their bodies to do the impossible. They're not protecting those kids, they're destroying them!"

IIIIII

"Takuya? Takuya, are you alright?"

The shining goggle-bearer wasn't sure what the main source of pain was. It might have been the enraged throbbing in his abdomen, or the absolute heat that was cocooning him and making him dizzy. But his best guess was that it was the overwhelming guilt.

Behind that overly-laced white curtain that Sakuyamon had drawn back were the ruins of the Digital World, now reduced to little more than levitating rubble above a black abyss. He could see the others around him also recoiling from sudden sickness, both physically and mentally. The orange-eyed goggle-bearer didn't have to look directly at his companions to tell. He could see their radiant doubles in the reflection of the window, as well as his own.

"We…we should have come back so much sooner…huh, BurningGreymon?" Takuya uttered, leaning on the end of a nearby couch for support while holding onto his hurting stomach. "Who…Who did this? What reduced the Digital World to this?"

Sakuyamon spoke simply.

"Time."

"Time?" questioned Zoë, holding her head and swaying slightly.

"To be more accurate it began with the D-Reaper's rampage in ancient times," elaborated the kitsune lady Digimon, stepping away from the window.

"You mean that red slime that was trying to eat everything?" questioned JP, the chubby boy massaging his cramping shoulder. "Yeah, we remember that stuff. It was everywhere a couple years back. That was before we came into the Digital World, before we knew what the Digital World was, really. It was just rumors to us back then."

"I see," answered Sakuyamon. "When the D-Reaper attacked the Digital World it consumed much of its vital data, and that data was never recovered when it was defeated. The Digital World did its best to work with its remaining data to replace the essential parts lost, but most of that data was never meant to be used in that way and corrupted over time. Although the disintegration was minimized, the corruption has slowly gotten worse. Lately it's gotten to the point that several Digimon upon rebirth or digivolution have received corrupted data, robbing them of the ability of feelings or thoughts."

"Like that Agumon," Kouji stated, his white eyes studying the red floor peeking in between the pastel carpets. His glowing likeness studied him back, what little of it could be seen.

"Yes. It's amazing that it even had the sense to reach the real world," responded Sakuyamon. "Because of this uncertainty in rebirth and digivolution no one wants to fight unless it's necessary, unless they want to risk corrupted digivolution or dying and going through a corrupted rebirth. It's an ironic peace."

Takuya bit his lip. If it had been an evil Digimon they needed to fight, it wouldn't have been so bad. At least then they had a physical opponent to fight. But something like this…the orange-eyed boy felt the great heat in his chest rage to get out, restricting his breath.

"BurningGreymon…" he whispered to himself, before setting his gaze on Sakuyamon. "What…What do we have to do?"

He asked, but he suspected he already knew the answer. And he was fine with that.

IIIIII

Strabimon's slanted eyes grew wide.

"No, that's…that's impossible…" he spoke, a tremor running down his lanky frame. "The Legendary Warriors…the Legendary Warriors made such a grave mistake as that?"

The humanoid canine leapt onto his feet and started pacing back and forth, his ragged black scarf trailing behind him and his fur standing on end.

"Their love…their love for those humans was great…wasn't it? And yet…"

He snatched the Book of Bokomon from Willis's hands and flipped it all the way to the back of the tome, where words were scrawled on the inside of the book cover.

"These children are the greatest warriors," the light-blue wolf began with deliberate pronunciation. "The Digital World will never need anyone else to protect it. Nor will they ever be alone, for the Legendary Warriors gave up half of themselves to them so both worlds would be safe. Whenever the Digital World is in its darkest hour, they will no doubt return, the power they wield ever stronger, and will purify and restore the world by giving their bodies to the Spirits inside and becoming one with their souls. With their mighty light of digivolution good life will rise again and the dark abyss banished by the elements."

Strabimon closed the book.

"That is the prophecy of Bokomon."

The three DigiDestined could only look at each other with wide, horrified eyes.

"N-No way…" Davis hissed, his words barely a whisper. "If that prophecy's true, then…then those kids are going to be sacrifices to the Beast Spirits."

IIIIII

_Normally I'd be blathering on about this and that, but I need to go to work soon so I'll just give you the preview._

_**NEXT CHAPTER**__: The DigiDestined rush to save Takuya and the others, but do those element-bound children want to be saved? Or are their Beast spirits talking for them? And what help could a bunch of Rookie Digimon be in a rescue?_

Cya!


	9. With a Kiss of Fire, The Bridges Burn

_Hello again! Whoa, six reviews. You guys really liked the last chapter, huh?_

_This was supposed to be a short chapter, but like so many "brief" chapters, it ended up being looooong lol. You have been warned. Drama, drama everywhere, with a little humor stuck here and there and even a little romance. It's about to get crazy here..._

_Revision Notes: Mostly fixing up on Digimon pronouns and adjusting things in the Beast Spirit/ Frontier Children scene. Other than that it's just more details and minor corrections._

_**Disclaimer: There are a lot of Digimon running around in this chapter, and I own NONE of them. Nor do I own any DigiDestined or Frontier kids.**_

_Now I'll shut up and let you read. _

**Data Set 9: With a Kiss of Fire, the Bridges Burn**

They would do it. There had never been any doubt about it. They knew they were going to do it as soon as they heard Bokomon's words read aloud by Sakuyamon. It seemed such a small price to pay to restore the Digital World to its former glory, six humans giving up their humanity to save a whole universe. Now they waited, as Sakuyamon worked on the last details of the ceremony and some Rookie Digimon cleared the table of their meals' remains.

Tommy, cocooned in blankets and shivering, was sitting with JP on a yellow couch not far from the table, smiling as the chubby boy described how he was going to build a gourmet's town as soon as he digivolved and became one with his Beast Spirit. In an overzealous moment the yellow-eyed child accidentally shot out a lightning bolt from his hand, incinerating one of the blurred paintings on the wall. The boy with pale blue eyes laughed as JP rubbed the back of his head and smiled sheepishly.

Not far off Kouichi was lying on a red couch, his eyes closed but not sleeping. His twin brother Kouji hovered over him, a hand on the black-eyed boy's forehead. He was comforting his couch-ridden sibling, telling him with a reassuring smile that he wouldn't have to deal with his migraines much longer. Afterwards Kouji turned away and coughed violently into his sleeve. There was a fresh splotch of red on the bandana boy's jacket.

Takuya and Zoë sat on a green couch together, but the lavender-eyed blonde was too wrapped up in a conversation between herself and her Beast Spirit Zephyrmon to pay much attention to the gogglehead beside her. Instead the glowing brunette just stared up at the white-coated ceiling, some of the paint peeling away to reveal the green-brown stone underneath.

_So this is it, huh? I guess Kouji was right. We could never turn our backs on the Digital World even if we tried. And now we're about to give our human lives for it. If we only had checked on the Digital World sooner, maybe it wouldn't have had to come down to this…but…_

He stood up and took out his cellphone, orange and white, and flipped open the top with a sharp cracking sound. The distinctive noise was enough to break Zoë out of her schizophrenic trance, who started blinking and whipping her head around in confusion. Nearby Tommy had fallen asleep against JP's rotund belly while the yellow-eyed boy was massaging his lower arm with a pained expression. The twins had switched places, with Kouji lying on the couch breathless while Kouichi stood over the white-eyed child and consoled him.

"Takuya?" the lavender-eyed girl asked, gazing up to the brown-haired boy beside her.

"I'm going to call Ms. Kamiya," the shining goggle-bearer explained, dialing a number on the cellphone as he walked toward the unveiled window. "We need to let her know that she won't need to make dinner for us, after all."

IIIIII

"Lopmon warp-digivolve to…Cherubimon!"

The brown-and-pink doggy-rabbit's Mega form was enormous. He was mostly colored white with some yellow in the jester-like frill around his neck, and two golden rings set on his towering bunny ears. He bore a friendly smile as he lowered his back to island-level.

"Woohoo!" shouted Terriermon, eagerly hopping onto his twin's back as Willis carefully came aboard. "You guys haven't ridden on my bro while he's Cherubimon, have you? It's awesome! He's the best theme-park ride around."

"Now Terriermon, we're using Cherubimon to cover more ground faster," lectured the blonde brainiac, helping Kari get up on the massive white Digimon while Davis and Strabimon scurried up by themselves. "This isn't a pleasure cruise. We're taking the straightest route."

"You mean he won't be doing any loop-de-loops or anything?" whined the white-and-green doggy-rabbit, plopping belly-first onto his brother's pure white fur as the gentle giant began to move forward. "Man, that sucks."

"Terriermon!"

"I mean that stinks. Whatever."

Kari had just gotten comfortable when her cellphone began to beep out the tune of _Missing _by Evanescence, causing poor Strabimon next to her to jump and bristle up. She scrambled for her mobile, snapped it open, and put it up to her ear.

"Takuya, are you and the others allright?!" she questioned anxiously. It never occurred to her it might have been some staff from the school trying to get in touch with her.

"…Yeah, we're okay," answered Takuya's voice on the other end.

"Oh thank goodness," the girl with short caramel hair replied, putting a hand over her chest and letting out a sigh of relief. The others riding on Cherubimon's back gathered close so they could hear what the child on the other side had to say.

"You okay? You sound kinda funny, like you got a dose of helium or something," stated Takuya, oblivious of all his eager listeners. "Maybe it's just the phone, though."

"Well…it's a long story," Kari replied, chuckling a little. "Where are you guys?"

"We're in the Temple of The Timeless," he explained. "It's like this huge stone castle in the middle of nowhere."

"Temple of The Timeless," Kari echoed, pointing to the palace in the distance and looking at Strabimon, who nodded. "Yeah, we know where you guys are. We see it on the horizon."

"You see it? You guys are in the Digital World?"

"Yeah," answered the brown-haired girl. "Listen, we're coming to get you. The Digimon here want to sacrifice you to the Beast Spirits because they think that will restore the Digital World."

"Yeah, we know," Takuya replied.

"So just hang in there until-"

"Ms. Kamiya."

"Yes? What is it?" asked Kari.

"It's okay," he spoke. "You don't have to come for us."

"...Huh? W-What are you talking about?! Of course we're coming for you!"

She heard a sudden gasp over the phone.

"Takuya?!" she called out, her distressed tone drawing the others around her nearer.

"…No really, don't worry about it," Takuya eventually replied, some pain in his otherwise serene voice. "We've decided. We're going to do it. We're going to give ourselves to the Digital World."

The words clumped in Kari's throat.

"We're DigiDestined like you," the voice on the other end continued. "You're willing to give your life for the Digital World. So are we. So don't come for us, okay? This is our choice."

"No, don't do it!" cried out the girl with short caramel hair. "There's got to be another way to save the Digital World! Don't throw your lives away!"

"Say hello to my parents and Shinya for me when you go back," Takuya went on. "Tell them the truth. They deserve to know."

"But Takuya-!"

"Here, give it to me," ordered Davis, snatching the cellphone away from Kari and putting it up to his own ear. "Takuya, this is Davis. Look, we're coming to get you guys whether you like it or not! We're not going to let them slaughter you like lambs because of some hocus-pocus prophecy, even if it is for the sake of the Digital World!"

"Davis-" Takuya began, a bit breathless.

"We're not going to let it happen!" barked Davis. "Those Beast Spirits are supposed to protect you, right? Then why do they want your lives? No guardian would ask for that!"

"Davis…" Kari began.

"Calm...calm down…" Takuya rasped, his breathing growing harsher. "Don't…"

"No I won't calm down! I'm not going to stand by and let these Beast Spirits eat you guys alive! You kids have got your whole lives ahead of you, as humans! You weren't born just to be a Digimon's food or host or whatever! I want you guys to live!"

"…Please…" Takuya whispered between gasps. "…Please don't…"

Davis listened until the breathing on the phone became less strained.

"We'll find a way to save the Digital World," Davis spoke, his tone calmer. "A way where we'll all go home. Together."

"…Why do you value my child's humanity over the lives of countless others in this world?" Takuya's voice spoke at last, a cold growl to the words. "It is not like he will cease to exist. He will always exist."

Davis narrowed his eyes as he listened to the voice on the other end.

"Together we will protect this world, and I will protect him. When we are one, humans such as yourself won't be needed in the Digital World and no more of your kind will need to suffer. My child agreed to this. This is his will."

The connection was cut. Davis stared at the dead cellphone in his hand.

"…Dammit!" Davis hissed, snapping the mobile shut and gripping it tightly. "How could they be so stupid?! That…that wasn't Takuya, not that last part. It…It must've been that Beast Spirit inside of him. Gaaah, those idiots! How could they trust something so obviously heartless?!"

Strabimon was silent, his light-blue fur on end as his lean body gave a quick shudder.

"The nerve of that Spirit, calling Takuya its childlike Takuya belongs to it, like he's already part of it," the falsely young brunette hissed. "And how could it have been Takuya's will if it didn't let him speak?! Man…what happened to the good ol' days when all you had to do to free somebody from mind control was to break the black ring on them?"

"…We've got to hurry," Willis spoke, his hands gripping hard into Cherubimon's fur. "Those kids aren't going to last much longer."

IIIIII

When Takuya came to, Zoë's worried face was hovering over him, her hand resting on his hot forehead. Just beyond her he thought he saw a dim shape, far too massive to be a human's, also crouched over him. But within a moment it vanished.

"Look who's finally up. How are you feeling?" asked the shining blonde, helping Takuya sit up. The radiant goggle-bearer realized that his head had been lying in her lap, and would have started blushing if there hadn't already been a feverish red tinge to his cheeks.

"…What happened?" asked the orange-eyed boy, holding his head.

"You passed out after you finished your call with Ms. Kamiya," explained Zoë, as her brown-haired friend shifted into a more comfortable position on the couch. "You hung up, took a couple steps forward, and then just collapsed. Gave us all a heart attack. It was probably because you were exhausted from that fever of yours, on top of everything else."

"Really…I don't remember…" Takuya replied, looking up at the ceiling. Now that he thought of it, he didn't remember the last half of his conversation with his teacher. "By the way, where is everyone?"

"Sakuyamon started escorting them out to the Moloch Chamber one by one after you blacked out. That's the place where we're going to become one with our Beast Spirits," replied the lavender-eyed girl. "Kouji went first to prove he wasn't scared, then Kouichi started getting real anxious without his brother and went next, then JP volunteered, and she just left with Tommy."

"And soon we'll be going there too," Takuya concluded.

"Yeah…"

For several minutes nothing was said.

"Hey…you scared?" Takuya asked, looking at Zoë and smirking.

She turned to him and smirked right back.

"Of course not."

More silence followed.

Looking down, the glowing goggle-bearer noticed a purple splotch on the side of her shirt. A battle scar from the food fight in the park, he realized. His torn shirt still smelled faintly of fruit punch, now that he thought of it. But that was a week ago. That was a lifetime ago…

"But…" Zoë added, looking to the side. "I wish I could've said goodbye to my family, you know, to explain everything to them and stuff. I don't know what Ms.Kamiya's going to tell them…"

"I told her to tell my family the way it is," Takuya answered. "…But yeah, I wish I could've seen them, one last time. Shinya…I hope he understands."

"He's a sweet kid," the shining blonde replied, smiling.

"Sweet? He's a little brat!"

"Well, he does have _you _as a big brother. You're just a _fine _role model for him, after all."

"C'mon, I'm not that bad!"

"Says the boy who once filled Kouji's shoes with ketchup when he wasn't looking."

Both of them laughed, their happy noise filling the otherwise empty room.

"But maybe it's better this way, you know," the shining gogglehead commented, one hand over his abdomen. "I don't want them to see what we're going through. They'd be scared. Well, Shinya might think it's cool to have a brother that glows in the dark."

He let out a laugh that ended in a shivering sigh.

"It's better this way. I know it's better this way."

Zoë studied his mild smile with a serious expression and gently laid her hand over his, feeling the intense heat coming from it. His hand turned upward and squeezed hers tightly. The orange-eyed child's serene grin faded as he looked away from her. She felt him shudder.

"It's okay, Takuya," the blonde bathed in golden light assured him, her hand squeezing back. "It's okay."

They heard Sakuyamon's footsteps echoing from the dark hallway.

"Zoë…" the shining goggle-bearer whispered, turning his face toward the lavender-eyed girl, her hand still in his firm grasp.

"Takuya-"

Suddenly his lips were onto hers, swallowing whatever words she was going to say. A small whirlwind swirled around the two of them in reaction to Zoë's surprise, but the wild air soon died away as her body relaxed and she closed her eyes. Several seconds passed by before their lips parted.

"Don't be scared, okay?" he spoke, putting a hand on her shoulder and smiling.

Sakuyamon came from the hallway. Using the couch as support, Takuya stood up.

IIIIII

"But shouldn't they be able to digivolve on their own at his point?" questioned Kari, turning to Willis. "The children, I mean. Back in the real world they couldn't digivolve because they were flesh and blood. But here they're data. What's keeping them from digivolving naturally?"

"That's what worries me," admitted the blond brainiac, his sight set on the lone castle that Cherubimon was flying toward. "Their bodies have been through so much hell already, they may be too weak to digivolve naturally. It depends on how much damage the Beast Spirits have already done to them when they were in the real world."

"But if they're too weak to digivolve, then they can't sacrifice them, right?" asked Davis, turning to Willis. "I mean, the Beast Spirits can't eat them all up if they don't have enough power."

"They'll use the key," Strabimon interrupted, his arms folded as he glared at the stone temple ahead. "It's been suspected for a long time they will need to use the key for assistance."

"The key?" asked Veemon, the blue-and-white Digimon giving the lanky humanoid canine a curious look.

"It's said that the purest light of digivolution is stored in the key," Strabimon elaborated, turning to Willis. "When the key is activated, any Digimon will digivolve regardless of their current energy or condition. It's said it can even take a Rookie all the way up to a Mega at once, it's that pure."

"So they're going to use _that_ on the kids?" questioned Davis, looking at Strabimon incredulously. "Damn, that's not much better than the Beast Spirits, forcing them to digivolve whether they're strong enough or not…"

"It was likely it be used on them whether they had the strength to digivolve on their own or not," stated the light-blue lithe wolf. "It's a big risk letting them digivolve naturally, with all the corruption in the common digivolution. They wouldn't take that chance with the Divine Bearers."

"Corruption of the common digivolution?" asked Kari.

"The decay in the Digital World's functions makes digivolving naturally and rebirthing a hazardous move," explained Strabimon. "If I digivolved now, I would probably become a mindless monster because of that corruption. That's why I'm still a Rookie Digimon. Been a Rookie Digimon ever since I can remember, really."

"You're a Rookie Digimon?" asked Davis, giving the lanky humanoid canine a wide-eyed stare. "You don't look it at all. I thought you were a Champion for sure."

"No, there are very few pure Champion Digimon out there," answered Strabimon. "Most sane Digimon you meet are at the Rookie level. There are a few armor-types, and there's the amazing blessing of Sakuyamon, but otherwise we're all Rookies."

"Sakuyamon?" asked Gatomon, watching the dozing Terriermon with envy.

"She's a Mega, the only pure Mega," responded the dog-demon with the ragged black scarf. "She's the leader of the Temple of The Timeless."

"So she's the one trying to sacrifice the kids, huh?" snarled Davis. "Guess we'll hafta go through her first."

"No, she is only a kind soul following the ancient prophecy," Strabimon stated, closing his eyes. "She doesn't want to sacrifice the children any more than us, but she believes that it must be done because the prophecy says so. Her only fault is too much faith. I'm sure if we told her otherwise, she would stop immediately."

Davis was quiet.

"Strabimon! Yo, Strabimon!"

The group on Cherubimon's back looked to the left. Flying up to them was a red insect about two feet tall, built like a ladybug. Carried in its claws was a tiny sand-colored puppy, a large golden collar around its neck.

"Hey Strabimon! Who's this big-" the scarlet bug began in a boyish tone, before noticing the people sitting beside the light-blue canine. "Whoa, man! Humans! Real live humans!"

The green-eyed creepy-crawly buzzed over to Kari, making her jump.

"Hi there! I'm Tentomon! It's so awesome to meet you, human!"

"…H-Hello human," the tan-hued pup greeted in a girlish voice as the scarlet bug put it down, a small shy smile on its face. "I-I'm Salamon."

Strabimon grabbed the back of Tentomon's neck and pulled him away, bringing the bug's big green eyes up to his slanted ones.

"Show the humans some respect," the lithe wolf with the ragged black scarf growled.

"O-Of course," squeaked Tentomon, giving a nervous little laugh.

"Dude, chill out Strabimon," responded Davis, looking a little surprised. "We don't mind Digimon coming over to us to say hello."

"Sorry. Tentomon here is the…excitable type," the lanky humanoid canine explained. "Sometimes he shocks others when he's like that. We're old friends, so I should know."

The tiny baby canine skittered away from Kari and hid behind Strabimon's leg, peeking around the taller demon-dog with a meek grin.

"I-I'm glad to meet you, humans," she spoke. "But…you're not part of the six, are you?"

Kari shook her head solemnly.

"We've come to find those six children."

"Oh…I-I didn't think you were them…"

"Wait, the six Divine Bearers are already here?!" exclaimed Tentomon, still in Strabimon's grasp. "I knew something big was gonna happen soon! I just knew it! Oh boy, if we hurry maybe we'll get to see them! Are you guys going to see them now?! Huh?! Huh?!"

A small bolt of electricity shot up from the scarlet bug's back, zapping Strabimon and causing him to let go out Tentomon.

"Whoa! I'm sorry Strabimon! Are you okay?!"

"…This is why I didn't want you near the humans…" grumbled the light-blue demon dog, fur standing up from all the static.

"Eheheh…"

"Of course we're going to go see them! We're here to save them!" barked Davis, glaring at the castle that still loomed in the distance, but was slowly drawing closer.

"S-Save them?" questioned Salamon, looking up to the far taller Strabimon.

The lithe wolf-demon clenched his black-gloved fist.

"There has been a grave mistake by the ancients," he growled as he looked away from the golden-collared pup.

"You can't be serious," commented Tentomon, flying closer to the pale-furred canine. "Aren't the ancients always supposed to be right and stuff?"

"I trust these humans over the prophecy," spoke Strabimon, looking over to the scarlet insect. "The ancients gave the humans their Beast Spirits to protect them, but the properties of the real world are much different than our world. Whenever they tried to protect the children, they only hurt them because that world made them unable to digivolve. The children were driven here by pain, not prophecy. Sacrifice was never part of the plan. That is never what the ancients wanted."

"Strabimon…" Tentomon began. "…You're totally right. I don't get why I didn't see it before. It's just wrong! I mean, I thought they would digivolve as soon as they got here and get it over with. But if they've just been hurting all this time…no way, the ancients would never be so cruel!"

"That's right," agreed Salamon, her nervous stutter gone and her face serious. "The ancients just wanted the humans to be happy. They left the Beast Spirits to look after them. Why would they plan to make sacrifices of them against their will?"

"They wouldn't," stated Strabimon firmly. "They would never do such a thing."

"We've gotta tell Flamon and the others!" exclaimed the red bug, zipping around lanky canine's head. "You know where they're at, Strabimon?"

"It's not my business to babysit that idiot pyro and his friends," muttered the light-blue lithe wolf, folding his arms. "And there's no time to search for them. We're running out of time as it is."

IIIIII

The dark hallway seemed so long, Takuya wondered if it was real.

He was supported by Sakuyamon as he trudged through the shadows staining the stone path, occasionally stumbling, with his shining body the brightest and only radiance in the restive black. The floor was a deep purple in the dark, but shiny scarlet under his lighted feet. There was a dim glow far away.

He felt hot, too hot, yet he relished that heat like it was that of the womb. It was soothing the pain in his muscles and abdomen, reducing it to a restless numbness. And he couldn't help but feel that a towering masked dragon was trailing his steps, his massive head lightly touching his back to help him move forward without falling.

He thought he saw Shinya, the young boy walking beside him talking to him with a wide smile on his face. But when the fevered gogglehead reached out to rustle his hair, there was no one to touch. He stood there for several seconds, his glowing hand hovering over where his little brother should have been. Sakuyamon asked him what was the matter, and he told her it was nothing and moved on with a sigh.

Takuya thought he saw others too, like the angelic female figure of Ophanimon, or the simple and diminutive forms of Bokomon and Neemon. He almost felt the gentle touch of Ms. Kamiya as the caramel-haired teacher laid a reassuring hand on his shoulder, or the playful pat on the head by Davis the noodle-cart master and part-time janitor. The radiant goggle-bearer could've sworn that the traveler Willis had taken his purple baseball cap, waving it about as the fair-haired adult talked about nothing particularly important, but his hat and goggles were still there when he touched his head.

The walls waved. The floor rippled. The walls of the hall twisted themselves in ways Takuya knew was impossible. They were so many familiar voices echoing around him, though no one spoke, but their speech was blurred together to the point where the orange-eyed brunette couldn't pinpoint the voices' masters or their words.

_**My child…**_

Takuya lifted his head, his orange eyes widening.

"BurningGreymon…" he spoke.

The brown-haired goggle-bearer smiled. He wasn't alone.

The unidentified voices slowly faded away, driven off by voices he recognized, those of the other element-haunted children. Their laughter and chatter grew louder as he and Sakuyamon exited the blackened tunnel and entered the Moloch Chamber.

The first thing Takuya noticed when he came into it was just how big and round the room was, its purple-painted walls encircling him and reaching high up to the sky outside like the shell of a egg. Six holes were punched through the top, the feeble light outside pouring down on six gilded thrones, each perfectly and widely spaced. In four of these thrones were his friends, prattling among themselves from their golden seats. The light from outside and the children's golden glows made the red floor around them shine. In the middle of the room was a short stone pillar.

Suddenly a small white creature flew up to his face, causing the orange-eyed goggle-bearer to startle. The tiny animal had wide eyes and huge ears tipped with purple, and there was a symbol of two overlapping triangles on its forehead. It hovered before him, bearing a happy smile.

"Hi! What's your name, human?" it asked in a squeaky voice. "It's funny, you know, how all you humans go by different names. We Digimon just call ourselves whatever type of Digimon we happen to be. Maybe we should start doing that, if the humans do it."

"Well you guys don't have to do it just because we do it," replied the orange-eyed youth, rubbing the back of his head. "Then again, there's no reason that you guys can't do it if you want to. Ah, whatever. Anyway, I'm Takuya."

"I'm Calumon!" chirped the little white creature. "I'm the key!"

IIIIII

"What is it, Willis?" questioned Kari, looking at the fair-haired boy's solemn expression as he stared ahead to the ever-approaching palace of stone. Resting in his lap was the Book of Bokomon, opened to one of the drawings of a masked dragon with fiery wings, BurningGreymon. Davis was behind them, explaining the wonders of the real world to Strabimon and the others and smiling at their amazed reactions. Veemon and Terriermon were assisting him with their sound effects.

The blue-eyed boy looked back at his gogglehead friend and smirked slightly.

"Leave it to Davis to only be grim for so long," he commented, turning his gaze back to the castle.

"He's just as worried as we are," Kari assured. "You know how Davis is. The more he talks, the more nervous he is. He's just trying to calm his nerves."

"I never said it was a bad thing," replied Willis with a smile.

Kari also looked on to the isolated castle of stone.

"…How do you think we'll get the Beast Spirits out of them?" she asked, after a brief silence.

"…I don't really know all the details about how they're connected to the children," the blond brainiac admitted, gaze kept steady. "All I've seen are their effects on the kids while they were in the real world, and not the Spirits themselves. This book's pretty vague about it too. Considering they're data, though, we'll probably have to remove them while the children are still in the Digital World."

He became hushed again, as excited chatter from Tentomon and Salamon was heard behind him.

"They'll probably have to be sent to real-world hospitals once we finally free them from the Beast Spirits," Gatomon started to speak, laying on her belly and watching the looming palace with a twitching tail. "They were already pretty bad off before they came to the Digital World. We'll have to figure out how to take the Spirits out of them fast, once we get to the children."

"Those children…" Willis began, unable to keep his gaze on the castle. "So weak already…"

He gripped Cherubimon's fur tightly in his hands.

"Willis?" asked the gentle white giant in a deep voice, turning his head to look at his human partner. In the background Davis and Terriermon were laughing at Veemon's imitation of a cow.

"…I didn't want to say it in front of Mr. Black-and-White back there," the blue-eyed boy continued, gesturing to Davis behind him. "But…with all the strain put on their bodies by the Beast Spirits and the attempted and resisted digivolutions…they have internal injuries, I can tell. They're only going to be worse when we get there. Even now…even now they might be depending on their Beast Spirits for strength. If it's a slow integration process leading up to the final digivolution, which I suspect it is, they might be the parasites now instead of the Beast Spirits."

"Willis…"

"…I'm scared, Kari," the fair-haired child confessed, his brilliant blue eyes staring down into the whiteness of Cherubimon's fur. "Scared that we're going to save the children only to have them die in our arms. I…I'd rather have them just digivolve and be consumed by the Spirits then have them die like that. I…I keep thinking of Lopmon, when he had the virus that turned him into a monster…"

Kari put a hand on his trembling shoulder.

"We can't think like that," she told him gently. "We have to at least try."

Willis quietly nodded, though he didn't look up.

"We're almost there," Cherubimon announced, as the group upon the flying rabbit's back looked up to see the brown-green palace almost on top of them. Davis's expression turned serious as he and the other Digimon scurried up to the front to get a better look.

"Hey, there's some Digimon down there," stated Gatomon, lifting up a black-clawed paw to point at a small rock island floating near the towering palace.

There were three Digimon, in fact. The first was a seal-like creature, white with purple markings, long zigzag ears, and a small tuft of orange fur on top of its head. The second was an elephant-like animal, the top of its body brown with wing-like ears while the bottom half was nothing but a dusty purple cloud.

Both of these Digimon were frantically trying to calm the third of their group, a much taller lanky mammal that somewhat resembled a lion with its flowing orange mane. Its matching tail of fluffy fur swished from side to side as it paced back and forth, tears brimming in its bright green eyes. Its body, tan with white markings, pulsed with white light.

"It's Flamon and the others," stated Strabimon, narrowing his slanted eyes. "That fool, always letting his passions rule him. He'll digivolve at this rate."

Strabimon leapt off Cherubimon's back and landed on the dull ground below, sprinting over to the trio of Rookie Digimon. The seal-like Digimon noticed him first.

"Strabimon! Perfect timing!" it greeted in a boyish voice. "Me and Tapirmon have been trying to talk some sense into Flamon, but he just won't listen to us!"

"Since when does Flamon listen to anybody?" questioned the light-blue canine dryly, gazing at the lion-like shining Digimon still pacing back and forth. "What's set him off this time, Gomamon?"

"The humans," explained the white-and-purple seal. "When he saw the humans in the dining room earlier, he started crying and ran outside."

"You were crying too, when I met with you after you saw the humans arrive," Tapirmon stated in a cool boyish voice, turning its elephant-like face to the orange-tufted mammal. "Almost bawling, really."

"Well yeah, that's true," admitted Gomamon, looking a little embarrassed. "It's weird. As soon as I saw them I felt tears running down my cheeks, I dunno why."

"High-strung too," added the half-gas creature. "Screamed out when Doggymon shouted _Boo_! behind your back."

"Eheheh…"

"Will you promise not to digivolve yourself while I calm Flamon down?" asked Strabimon, walking toward the pulsing orange-maned Digimon. "And what about you, Tapirmon? Did they have any effect on you?"

"I've yet to see them, and probably never will at this point," admitted the elephant-like Digimon, looking to the side. "But all the other Digimon were happy and in wonder when the Divine Bearers arrived."

"I see," replied the lean wolf wearing the black scarf. "Flamon!"

The lanky humanoid lion abruptly stopped his pacing and turned to Strabimon with tear-blurred emerald eyes.

"It's not fair, Strabimon!" Flamon exclaimed in his young voice, shaking and looking at the lifeless earth beneath his feet. "I was so excited to see them, the humans. I didn't know what they were going to be like, but I wanted to see them so bad, like they were old friends coming home or something. But when I actually saw them…talking and laughing even though they were obviously in so much pain…I even saw the one with the goggles turn to me and smile. Smiling like his life wasn't important. But it is! They all are! They're too important to be sacrificed. They don't deserve this! They don't deserve this at all! What were the ancients thinking, making them hurt so much?!"

The white-marked Digimon let out a yell and began glowing brighter, tongues of flame circling around him.

"Flamon, stop it!" snarled Strabimon, grabbing the lanky lion's arm. "Listen Flamon, you want to save them, don't you?"

The ribbons of fire around faded away and the glowing grew dimmer as the emerald-eyed Digimon looked at Strabimon's thin face.

"Of course I do. There's…there's nothing else I want to do more."

"Then don't turn into a monster, and come join us and the humans instead."

Flamon's eyes looked past to the lithe light-blue canine and to the enormous gold-and-white rabbit floating down to the island's level, bearing both people and Digimon upon its back. Gomamon's mouth fell open, while Tapirmon's eyes widened.

"…You're going to save them?" asked Flamon, eyes glued to the great gentle giant waiting for him and his friends.

"Of course," spoke Strabimon, nodding and smiling slightly. "But we must hurry."

IIIIII

"Hey Kouji, you look nervous," teased Takuya, kicking his feet as he sat in his gilded throne. It was amazing that he still had the energy to waste on such a pointless motion, but now the glowing gogglehead felt a rush of vigor bordering on hyperness, even though he should have been exhausted. He must be feeding off of BurningGreymon's power, he realized.

Zoë had just come in, escorted by Sakuyamon to the empty throne between him and Kouji and greeted by Calumon. He still had trouble believing that that tiny In-Training Digimon had the great power of digivolution sealed inside him. It had held the power on and off during the centuries, depending on the state of the Digital World. Upon its will the happy white creature would release the light from the red mark on its forehead, enabling all of them to digivolve at once.

He was glad that they would change all at the same time, that no one would need to digivolve by themselves. So much power was sealed inside them that the process of becoming one with the Beast Spirits would most likely be a painful one. He didn't want anyone alone for that. He didn't want to be alone for that.

The shining brunette noticed Boarmon standing in the shadows of the hallway, watching them without a word. The glow of his ever-burning body gave him away. Although he wasn't the digivolved form of Bokomon like he had claimed, he was still a friend to Takuya. He guided them here to save the Digital World, after all.

Briefly he thought back to the humanoid lion Digimon that he saw while he was still eating at the dining hall feast, the one who began weeping when the orange-eyed boy saw him. Why did the emerald-eyed creature start crying when he smiled? He and the others were going to save this world for Digimon like him.

"Nervous? Whatever, Takuya," the white-eyed boy replied with a smirk, his voice so rough and torn that the shining goggle-bearer could hardly believe it was his friend's. "But geez, I'm sitting here waiting to be digivolved and all I can think about is how I'm going to miss the next episode of D.Grayman. Isn't that stupid, Kouichi?"

"Huh?" asked his black-eyed twin, who until then had been staring up at the ceiling of the Moloch Chamber and saying nothing.

"Don't you think it's funny that I'm obsessing about a TV show when I'm about to become one with KendoGarurumon?"

"…What's a TV show?"

"…You know, a program they show on the television that you watch and stuff. Most of them are crap, though."

"…But what's a television?"

Takuya closed his blazing orange eyes and leaned his head back on the velvet padding that was at the top of his gilded throne, as the conversation between the twins became increasingly one-sided. Despite the purple pillow's softness it wasn't very comfortable.

_God, I was so scared, when it all started. I valued my humanity so much. I valued myself so much, like I was so important. And I called myself such a gallant person. How could I have been so selfish, valuing myself over the Digital World? I shouldn't have been afraid. I should've known it was you, BurningGreymon. But don't worry, I'm ready now. I won't run anymore, BurningGreymon. I'm ready._

He felt the heat nested in his heart grow warmer.

Sakuyamon was going from child to child, kneeling down in front of each throne to sprinkle each child's hair with holy water and to fasten them in place with sturdy black bonds built into the golden chairs. The twins were already bound by the time Takuya noticed the kitsune lady's actions. Right then she was just beginning to secure JP into place.

"Oh man, feels like I'm about to go on a carnival ride!" the chubby boy stated, laughing a little too loudly as Sakuyamon pulled two dark belts across his chest, one over the other in a crisscross pattern. "Ladies and Gentlemen, please keep your arms and legs in the vehicle at all times."

"Also make sure to remove all loose items and articles of clothing before the ride begins," Kouji continued in a similar announcer tone. "You first, Mr. Gogglehead!"

Smirking, Takuya tossed his purple baseball cap and his goggles into the center of the circular chamber, along with a set of collectible soccer player cards, hitting the short skinny pillar in the middle of the room. Zoë also threw her lavender hat, comb, and perfume bottles into the pile. Tommy discarded his oversized mushroom hat and a couple of toy robots. JP dug into his pockets and pulled out a deck of cards, some paper flowers, a plastic magician wand, a rubber chicken, a collapsible top hat, another rubber chicken, a long, long string of multicolored cloths tied together…

"Good God, JP, you brought all that magic stuff with you?" Zoë asked, laughing. "I can't believe you sometimes."

"What? I always carry these things with me," defended JP, as he lobbed the mass of childish items into the growing heap in the middle of the room. "You never know when a little magic trick will come in handy."

"You never cease to amaze us," teased Kouji, looking almost dignified in the position that the black bonds held him up in.

"Hey, it's your turn guys," pointed out Takuya, looking at the white-eyed boy and pointing to his own now-bare head. "Time to lose the bandana, Kouji."

"But I'm already strapped in!" protested the black-haired boy.

Kouichi looked antsy as he realized he couldn't empty his pockets either.

"I'll get your stuff!" chirped Calumon, floating over to Kouji and starting to undo his bandana. "Anything else?"

"Yeah, there should be my cellphone in my right pocket," answered the glowing white-eyed boy, as the small white creature took off his shiny black bandana. "Oh yeah, make sure to turn off all cellphones guys."

"Right," the others echoed, as all yet-bound children brought out their mobile devices and pressed down on the _End _button, causing the portable communicators to give off one last chorus before falling silent. They pitched the now-quiet machines into the central mass of abandoned items. JP's arm was bound with three black bands, his other arm and his legs already arrested. Sakuyamon went over to Tommy and dribbled a little blessed liquid from the amethyst bottle in his plain brown hair.

Calumon had just managed to put Kouji's phone to sleep and was now depositing the mobile and the bandana into the heap of human possessions. Floating over to Kouichi, it searched his pockets and pulled out his cellphone and a photo of a group of smiling black-haired people, with the twins standing in front.

"Ooh, who are these people?" asked the curious big-eared animal, examining the picture by tilting it back and forth in its tiny paws.

Kouichi stared at the photo with wide dark eyes, tilting his head slightly. But he said nothing.

His twin also stayed silent, looking away from his brother.

"Oh well," Calumon responded, flipping open the cellphone with a little effort and pressing down on the _End _button, making the device cry out with a feeble jingling sound before the screen turned black. The small white creature carried off the items to the mass of individual things without another thought.

"Allright, so everybody ready?" asked Takuya, as he saw Sakuyamon approaching him. "All aboard! _Too Tooooo_!"

The Moloch Chamber exploded with laughter as the lady Digimon with the golden fox mask trickled some celestial water onto the orange-eyed boy's head, cooling his scalp. Then she took the two criss-crossing bonds and strapped them across his chest. They felt tight, almost restrictive, against his skin and clothes.

"Oh god, Takuya, that was perfect!" Zoë roared, the last one free to clutch her gut in her great fit of laughter. "Do it again!"

"_Too Tooooo_!" howled Takuya, as three black bonds fastened his arms to the throne's arm-rests. The laughter burst out again, and the shining goggleless boy began to laugh too.

"_Too Tooooo!_" mimicked Calumon, gliding in circles around the room. "_Too Tooooo!_"

Takuya's laughter finally faded into a sigh, as each of his legs became bound against the base of the gilded throne with three black bonds. Without a word Sakuyamon got up and began to head toward Zoë, the last free one.

Takuya could only move his head now, and surveyed the room as the laughter died down and the others began to more tranquilly talk with each other. The kitsune lady in golden armor was dusting Zoë's hair with divine drops. He heard Kouji go into another coughing fit.

It wouldn't matter really, but he wished he could hold their hands. But his arms were tied down by obsidian straps, and the golden seats were too far apart. All the gilded throne had to give for comfort was cold gold to hold. He couldn't take his eyes off the baseball cap and goggles lying helplessly on the scarlet floor.

Calumon was gliding over to the thin narrow pillar in the center of the room, the one surrounded by their surrendered belongings.

IIIIII

The DigiDestined and their companion Digimon broke through the doors of the Temple of The Timeless like an ethereal tidal wave, startling the Digimon inside.

"What? More humans?"

"Why are Strabimon and his friends with them?"

"The Book of Bokomon never said anything about this!"

The rapid tide of Digimon and humans didn't stop to explain. They only rushed straight ahead.

"Do you know where the kids might be?" asked Willis, Terriermon and Lopmon riding on his shoulders. Cherubimon couldn't fit through the doors, so he had to revert to his brown-and-pink Rookie form.

"They'd be in the Moloch Chamber by now," answered Strabimon, leading the way and not looking back.

"The Moloch Chamber…" repeated Willis, his blue eyes glaring at the crimson floor. "God, what a name…"

They tore through the myriad twisting halls of stone like floodwater. The shiny scarlet floor mocked them with echoes of their frantic footsteps. Suddenly the grim green-brown and vivid red gave way to stark white with pastel carpets and poorly-done paintings. They were couches of all colors scattered everywhere, with no rhyme to reason to their placing. In the middle of the room was a polished rosewood table, perfectly clean. The group paused to catch their breath.

"What is with this room?" wondered Davis, looking around at the odd décor. "These guys sure have weird tastes."

"Just ahead…" Strabimon gasped, using the rosewood table for support. "Just ahead is the Moloch Chamber. We must…"

Galloping from the shadowy corridor, exposed by his self-produced light, came Boarmon, halting right at the entrance of the hallway leading to their intended destination.

"Stop! What are you doing?!" demanded the flaming pig. "The ceremony is about to begin. No one but Sakuyamon is allowed past his point. This includes other humans."

"Let us through!" barked Strabimon, fur on end and teeth bared. "You're making a grave mistake!"

"Boarmon!" called out Doggymon, as the bandaged golden canine and Patamon rushed into the room from the opposite hallway. "What's going on? Why are these humans here?"

"Takuya told me that these humans and their Digimon friends might come to interfere with the ceremony," Boarmon growled, stomping his foot and letting out a snort. "And I will be true to his wishes to stop you!"

"Please listen to us!" cried Kari, stepping forward. "You mustn't go through with this! They're just children! They shouldn't be used like this!"

"But the prophecy says that they would do this by their own will, and they are," Patamon replied, flying forward some. "Sakuyamon gave them a lot of chances to walk away, but they refused them all. It makes me sad too, but this is what they wanted."

"Yeah, that's right!" Doggymon echoed.

"Is it what they wanted or what the Beast Spirits wanted?!" snapped Davis, clenching his fist and glaring at the living barbeque. "It's not the same thing, you know!"

"Davis-" Kari began.

"The will of the children and the will of the Beast Spirits are becoming one," stated Boarmon coolly. "There should be little difference between their opinions."

"How do you know that, Boarmon?!" snapped Flamon, stepping forward with flames circling his body.

"Get back!" ordered the giant swine, spitting some fire at the lion-like Digimon and causing it to retreat. 'What makes you think that you can just barge in and change things at this point?! Do you realize what the consequences could be if the ceremony was interrupted by the likes of you?! Both the Digital World and the children-"

Then the screams began, six young voices rolling out of the dark tunnel behind Boarmon. All the words died in the flaming pig's mouth, his beady eyes growing wide and his mighty blazing body shivering.

"The…children…"

All the others were silenced as well, except for the low whimpering of Doggymon and Patamon. Outside of the one exposed window a multi-colored rain of light was starting, forming a film that was connecting the fragmented bits of barren rock and land outside.

"No…" Davis spoke, his wide brown eyes fixed on the blackness of the tunnel, where the screams were blasting from like an oversized megaphone. "Dammit Veemon, Strabimon, we've gotta-"

Strabimon's expression was one of wide-eyed horror, tears flowing freely from his slanted eyes and down his cheeks. Looking around, Davis saw that all of the lithe wolf's friends all had the same terrified countenance and were weeping silently and without restraint.

"W-Why are you crying like that?" questioned Boarmon, his body shaking more as he looked to the glistening crimson floor beneath his feet. "This…This is…they knew this…this is…what they…"

"Strabimon…" Davis called to the crying canine.

"…Stop it…" he hissed, trembling violently. "Stop it…Stop it…Stop it…Stop it…"

"Strabimon-" Kari called.

"Stop it…Stop…it…STOP IIIIIT!" Strabimon screeched, shouting at the top of his lungs as a bright white light enveloped him. "STOP THIS RIGHT NOW! STOP IIIIIIT!"

"Strabimon, calm down!" demanded Boarmon, his widened eyes now locked onto the pale-furred wolf's glowing form, the human screams persisting in the background. "If you digivolve now, you'll become a fiend! These children are sacrificing themselves so Rookies like yourself can become proper Champion Digimon. Don't throw away that gift they're paying so dearly for!"

The humanoid demon-dog with the ragged black scarf only shone brighter and yelled out louder. One by one the other crying Digimon squeezed their eyes shut and began to wail and glow.

"Calm down, all of you!" the flaming pig cried out, taking a step back.

"JUST STOP IT! STOP HURTING THEM!" shrieked Strabimon, though his scream couldn't overcome those of the children. "This is never…THIS IS NEVER WHAT WE WANTED!"

Completely consumed by the light, the lanky young wolf began to grow and change, taking the shape of a much taller Digimon. As the others behind him were also submitting to the light, the white glow of Strabimon's new form faded away.

He was covered in grey-blue metal armor, with a blue-and-white scarf trailing behind him. He wore a mask of a wolf that covered the upper half of his face, but the face not hidden resembled a human's. Short blonde hair stuck out behind his head. In his grasp was a long metal sword.

"No way," spoke Willis, taking out the Book of Bokomon that had been Strabimon's copy and flipping through the pages, staring at the other changing Digimon in wonder. "Couldn't be…"

The Digimon that had been Flamon was still glowing faintly from the light of digivolution, and was now a creature covered head to foot in red and gold armor. His mane had been bleached from blazing orange to pale gold, and a crimson mask adorned with horns laid over his face.

The Digimon that had been Salamon was now a very human-looking Digimon, so different from her baby canine form. Great lavender moth wings sprouted from her back, and her eyes were covered by a pale metal visor. Clothing colored faint amethyst covered her hands, chest, and feet. Her hair was a dusty purple.

The Digimon that had been Tentomon was now a bipedal insect colored cobalt and gold, with proper hands instead of claws. A large horn protruded from his head. His body was packed with muscle.

The Digimon that had been Gomamon hadn't grown much taller in his Digivolution. Now instead of a seal he was a short bear made of snow and ice. He was clothed with forest-green headgear, boots, and a vest.

The Digimon that had been Tapirmon now looked nothing like his half-elephant, half-gas form. Instead he was a warrior bound in black armor, sealed with gold. The bit of his face that could be seen past his feline mask was like a human's. He bore a dark shield that was shaped like a roaring lion.

"These…these are…" began Davis, eyes wide.

Boarmon fell to his knees.

"Lobomon of the Light, Agnimon of the Fire, Kazemon of the Wind, Beetlemon of the Lightning, Kumamon of the Ice, Lowemon of the Darkness…" Willis spoke, flipping through the drawings of Bokomon's tome. "The Legendary Warriors, the human-type Spirits!"

Lobomon, once Strabimon, gave Boarmon a steady, firm gaze.

"Will you let us pass now?"

IIIIII

It hurt. Oh god, it hurt. It was like his blood was becoming boiling magma in his veins. His stomach was being ripped apart, Takuya was sure of it. And the heat, it was like a massive sadistic anaconda, crushing him in its torrid coils and wringing the breath out of him. He wanted to do something, anything, to make it all go away, but the black bonds held him down no matter how much he writhed.

He heard the others screaming too, just as ensnared and powerless as he was. Kouji at the mercy of light, Kouichi drowning in darkness, Zoë assaulted by wind, JP the plaything of electricity, Tommy isolated in ice. If only he could do something to free them from their element's thralls. Why…Why did he ever agree to this?

When he couldn't scream anymore and gulped in relished air, he opened his heavy eyes.

He was sealed away in a pillar of red light. Around him the others were also locked away in their own towers of radiance. Some of them were still screaming and thrashing, but others like him were hanging limp in their thrones. All the light made the floor red, so bright, glistening red.

In the middle of the room was Calumon, the emblem on its forehead gleaming crimson. It was frozen in place by fear, its innocent expression horrified and wide tears welling up in its big eyes. At the mouth of the hallway was Sakuyamon, her head turning away from the scene and the golden staff shuddering in her grasp, causing the many rings on it to chime hysterically.

_That's right…this is…for them…to save them…_

_**Yes, my child, we will save them**_

"BurningGrey-"

A sudden surge of searing power tore through Takuya's limbs, causing the goggleless boy to shriek in pain. His head drooped forward, hot tears streaming down his cheeks.

"It hurts…" he croaked, sobbing. "It hurts…so much…"

_**I know, my child, I know**_

Takuya felt a long, thin tongue lick his tear-tainted visage. The brunette turned his head up sluggishly to see a semi-transparent masked dragon gazing upon him with a rueful look.

"Burning…Grey…" he began, feeling his heavy head leaning forward.

Takuya felt his chin being lifted up by one of the Beast Spirit's magnificent blazing wings, forcing the crying child to gaze upon the crimson wyrm.

_**This will be the last time you'll ever be helpless. And even now you are not alone**_

The goggleless boy turned his sight to the rest of the room. Everyone else was weeping too, softer cries of pain replacing the screams, but around his companions he saw the vague shapes of the other Beast Spirits soothing their hosts. KendoGarurumon was halfway into Kouji's lap, whining tenderly as he licked away the white-eyed boy's tears and the blood leaking from his mouth. Zephyrmon carefully ran her clawed fingers through Zoë's long blonde hair, embracing her with her wings while singing to her in a nameless beautiful language. JagerLowemon purred as he rubbed his face and body across Kouichi's legs over and over, occasionally changing his route to rub his face against Kouichi's wet cheeks instead. Large Korikakakumon held little shivering Tommy in its massive arms, his burly limbs going right through the chair in his half-real state, and groomed the young boy's hair with his tongue. MetalKabuterimon only placed one of its cannons on JP's shoulder gently and gave off a humming noise, but then again it was a tank Digimon, so its affections were limited.

Takuya noticed something else too. Above the haunted children's heads halos were forming, each made of the child's element. Right now those halos were fragmented, existing in two or three pieces slowly rotating around, but the longer he watched the more complete the halos became. He couldn't life his head to check, but he was sure that a disjointed halo of fire must by orbiting right above his head too.

The goggleless boy drew breath in sharply and squeezed his eyes tightly as he felt his muscles seize up desperately. The room began to spin like a demonic merry-go-round.

"Burning…" he found himself rasping, the scorching liquid seeping out of his eyes scalding his cheeks. "Burn…ing…"

The long thin tongue slipped over his sweat-drenched forehead and his closed eyes, as the boy struggled to get air into his lungs.

_**Hush. It will not be much longer now…**_

"…My child," Takuya heard himself speak, in his own voice, as he felt his orange eyes open.

He heard the others starting to speak as well, only it wasn't their words they spoke as their eyes began to glaze over. Calumon whipped his head about the room, eyes wide with confusion and fright. Pieces of the fragmented halos were fusing together.

"You will never be alone anymore," Takuya spoke, hearing only his own voice but knowing it was the masked dragon who spoke, its tongue still caressing his face. "Everywhere you go fire will guard you, surround you, become you."

"The light of the sun will empower you, the light of the moon will refresh you, and light of the stars will show you everything," spoke Kouji, Legendary Warrior of Light.

"Lava, the blood of the world, will become your blood," continued Takuya, Legendary Warrior of Fire, feeling his head droop and the tongue strokes fade away. His heart was an inferno.

"The wind will take you anywhere you desire, for you are their child and they are your parents," spoke Zoë, Legendary Warrior of Wind.

"Every tendril of fire and rush of heat will obey me, for I am their sovereign," Takuya spoke, suddenly unsure if it was his words or the Beast Spirit's that passed through his mouth. At least the pain was fading now, and his breathing was becoming calmer and less labored.

"With my thunder and lightning I will blast away the decay to make way for the pure new land," spoke JP, the Legendary Warrior of Lightning.

"My fire and magma will build new mountains and carve out new valleys, melting the broken world into one land once more," the orange-eyed boy spoke, his body growing numb and his mind becoming enveloped in a overpowering miasma. His breathing grew shallower.

"For this task we will become one, and to watch over his world we will remain one," spoke Tommy, Legendary Warrior of Ice.

"No one else will ever disquiet the peace of my new world, and its dependency on the real world and its humans shall be cut," spoke the Legendary Warrior of Fire, barely able to draw in breath even though his lungs begged for it.

"The shackles of humanity discarded, nothing can hold me back from what needs to be done," spoke Kouichi, Legendary Warrior of Darkness.

"So I, the bestial side of fire-"

Takuya's sight was growing dark.

"I, the bestial side of light-"

"I, the bestial side of wind-"

"I, the bestial side of lightning-"

"I, the bestial side of ice-"

"I, the bestial side of darkness-"

"-Will rule over and protect this new world," spoke the goggleless boy, his eyes finally closing.

IIIIII

"Hang on, Takuya, hang on!" yelled Agnimon, as he and the other human-type Legendary Warriors rushed down the blackened hall with the DigiDestined and their Digimon close behind. "Dammit BurningGreymon, why are you doing this?!"

"The screams stopped a while ago. I hope we're not too late," stated Willis, further behind the other two humans. "At least when they were screaming we knew they were still alive…"

"Don't talk like that!" snapped Davis, glaring back at the blue-eyed youth. "They're still alive. They've got to be…"

"Kouji…Kouji, I'm so sorry…" Lobomon muttered to himself, the wolf-masked knight running just ahead of the pack. "This was never supposed to happen…Kouji…the prophecy…it was never a prophecy…it was just Bokomon's good wishes…the last part…that was just describing regular digivolution with the spirits…not this…not this…"

They rushed past a silent kitsune in golden armor without even noticing her presence.

The group of rescuers came to the Moloch Chamber, the room huge and silent. Gathered in the middle of the room were the children's belongings, ranging from beloved hats to rubber chickens to a photo of a smiling family. Standing on a thin pillar encircled by the forsaken objects was a small white Digimon, looking around terrified. Unconscious and glowing in their glided thrones were the children, bound by black bonds.

Upon seeing the humanoid Legendary Warriors enter, the white creature's eyes widened and the tears that were brimming in its eyes flowed freely. It started bawling loudly and fled the room, the glow of its red mark fading. The shining of the children also darkened away.

The Legendary Warriors dashed to their humans, ripping off the dark bindings with their bare hands. They lifted the children from their golden thrones, now marred by intense energy burns, and carried them to the center of the room. The DigiDestined met them there.

"Are…are they…?" began Kari, looking at the children's impassive faces with worry.

"He's still breathing," spoke Agnimon, gazing down to the goggleless brunette slumbering in his hold with a relieved smile.

The caramel-haired girl studied the faces of the other Legendary Warriors, who each smiled and nodded in return.

"Oh thank God," she answered, sinking to her knees. "We made it in time."

Davis and Willis grinned and gave each other a high-five, though the fair-haired boy still looked a bit anxious. Their Digimon mimicked them, though Veemon had to give two high-fives instead of one. Gatomon just smiled.

The hatless boy in Agnimon's arms stirred faintly. The others were also beginning to come to as Davis hurried over to the red-armored warrior of fire, his human companions going off to check on different children.

"Takuya!" he called, as the goggleless youth opened his orange eyes. "How're ya feeling?"

"…Okay, I guess," the brunette boy replied a little quietly, surveying the room and then the fabled Digimon carrying him. "…Oh, hey Agnimon. Long time no see. Can you put me down now?"

"Think you can stand?" asked the golden-haired flame master.

"Yeah…"

Agnimon carefully placed the brown-haired child onto his feet, who managed to stand up straight after a little uncertain wobbling. He was just as tall as he was right now, Davis realized. How different he looked at eye level, his baseball cap and goggles gone. It made the boy look older somehow. Around them the other children were being placed onto their feet as well, bringing cheerful looks to the other two DigiDestined's faces. Willis looked especially relieved.

Davis placed a hand on the goggleless child's shoulder.

"Let's go back to the real world, Takuya."

His orange eyes gazed into the DigiDestined's with an almost innocent expression.

"Why?"

The boy's shoulder became scorching hot, causing Davis to cry out and quickly withdraw his hand. There were burns on his palm when the DigiDestined looked at it.

"Davis!" shouted Veemon, running over to his human partner.

"Takuya!?" exclaimed Agnimon.

The chocolate-haired boy looked up from his hand to the hatless youth, who was now surrounded by an aura of heat. His orange eyes were cold and narrow.

"You…" he began. "The voice on the phone…"

Davis heard the cries of the other DigiDestined and humanoid Legendary Warriors as the other children summoned walls of their own elements to keep the others away. Their eyes were arctic and slim just like the goggleless boy.

"I'm the Legendary Warrior of Fire," spoke the boy with Takuya's voice. "That's all I need to be. Is that a problem, human?"

A halo of fire, whole and burning brightly, formed above the orange-eyed boy's head. A halo materialized above the other children's heads as well, each of the appropriate element. Suddenly all the children gave off a brilliant gold radiance, blinding the DigiDestined and the humanoid Legendary Warriors.

When Davis opened his eyes and the artificial sunspots evaporated from his sight, there were no children to be seen.

Where Zoë once stood was a mystical, graceful creature that almost passed as human. Its face was entirely hidden by a dark lavender mask, and a crest of long rainbow feathers flowed from the top of its head and all the way down its back. Except for its midriff, upper legs, and the tips of its hands, all mirroring the flesh of a person, its slender body was covered in a light purple outfit. It hovered in place, gilded wings on the sides of its oversized green sleeves. In its left hand was a silver rapier.

Where Kouji once stood was a towering metal lupine, two golden swords in its firm grasp. Its armor was painted white with blue stripes, with a few touches of gold and silver. Though its stature was like that of a strong human, its metallic face was clearly that of a snarling wolf. Its eyes shone scarlet.

Where Kouichi once stood was colossal obsidian lion, sharp wings of golden metal jutting out of its back. Patterns of yellow and red were traced on its dark robotic body. Six black spikes, three on each side, framed its feline face. A golden beard not unlike those of ancient pharaohs was on its chin, and there was a large ruby embedded in the middle of its forehead. Its shining scarlet eyes bore a cool, almost bored expression.

Where little Tommy once stood was an enormous humpbacked ram, its eyes a frosty blue and its hooked brown horns stretching over ten feet across. Its body was almost entirely cloaked in thick light-blue fur, with some of it tied up into ponytails by long red bands. Six black spikes stuck out of its bulging back, three on each side.

Where JP once stood was a gargantuan creature made up of two insects. The lower part was a bronze-colored bug with six beady eyes and huge jaws, with six sturdy silver-and-bronze legs sticking out as its sides. From the top of this beetle's head emerged the torso of the second insect, a cobalt-and-gold bug that was only vaguely human in shape. It had long scythes for arms and a tall horn coming out of its head. From its back six golden insect wings were spread out. There was no face on the cobalt bug.

Where Takuya once stood was a gigantic masked dragon standing on all fours, its massive burning wings illuminating the purple and scarlet of the Moloch Chamber. It had a mane of golden hair behind the red-and-white false face, and its body was encased in crimson armor. Two thick iron collars clung tightly to its massive neck. Its eyes were as blue as the brightest sky.

The monsters gazed down at the humanoid Legendary Warriors and DigiDestined gathered at the center of their circle, their eyes wintry.

"…Too late," Davis whispered, feeling his heart freezing under the beast's cold stares. "…Oh God, we were too late."

_IIIIIIIIIIIIIII_

_...Yes, I know that's the most evil cliffhanger ever, but that's how it turned out. And the conclusion is only a chapter away...a chapter that will be out by the end of the month, or very early next month._

_Now let's see how much you guys know...as I said, I own no Digimon in this chapter, including the ones that Takuya and the others digivolved into. Can you guess which Digimon I used before I announce their names in the final chapter? Hint: They have never appeared in the anime, but they ARE mentioned. Also, anyone happen to know where the name Moloch comes from? Hint: It has to do with paganism, dark paganism._

_**NEXT CHAPTER:**__...well, you'll just have to see won't you? XP_

_Cya! We're almost there, folks!_


	10. Will It Ever Be the Same?

_He-lloooooo! I have no idea what time it is since the cat knocked off the digital clock again, except that it's well past one in the morning, but I really don't care since I'm wired. Finally, over two years after it started and 145 pages of rough later, the final chapter has arrived!_

_This chapter is much shorter than the previous one, but I expected that. It's the climax and some epilogue stuff._

_Revision Notes: Just the usual polishing and grammar checks._

_Disclaimer: No, I don't own Digimon, but I do own an ending. Woot! _

**Data Set 10: Will It Ever Be the Same?**

"No…no!" screamed Davis, starting to shake. "Monsters…no, demons…you demons! Controlling their bodies like they're puppets! How could you do that to your partners?! Those kids…those kids…give them back!"

"Davis…" Lobomon began.

"Takuya!" Davis barked at the golden-maned dragon standing before him, glaring at the gigantic wyrm. "Takuya, if you're still in there, listen to me! You've got to fight back! Takuya!"

"My name isn't Takuya anymore," the devil dragon growled in a deep, guttural voice, spreading out its huge burning wings. "I am the Timeless Beast AncientGreymon now."

"AncientGarurumon," spoke the metallic lupine soldier.

"AncientIrismon," spoke the feminine creature wearing the dark purple mask.

"AncientBeetmon," spoke the huge conjoined insect, the lower bug speaking.

"AncientMegatherium," spoke the pale-furred mammoth ram.

"AncientSphinxmon," spoke the obsidian metal lion.

"I don't care what your names are," hissed Davis, looking to the side with his fists clenched. "You're nothing but fiends."

"Why are you so angry?" asked AncientSphinxmon, its shining scarlet eyes calmly down gazing down at the falsely young gogglehead. "You are a DigiDestined, are you not? Outside, the Digital World is ready to be reformed, and the light of common digivolution and rebirth has been purified. The Digital World has been made new, as the prophecy told."

"By their blood," Davis muttered, gazing at the glistening crimson floor.

The golden-winged demon feline narrowed its eyes slightly.

"We did not take their human forms without their consent. They wished to give their lives for the Digital World. Would you be willing to do that, if you were in their place? Or is your life more precious than the Digital World's, you who hides behind his Digimon?"

Davis snarled, and then glared at the floor again.

"Was it…really their choice?"

"It was our choice," spoke AncientGreymon.

"I'm not talking about you! I'm talking about the kids!"

"We are those children!" snapped the mighty crimson wyrm, Takuya's youthful voice coming out of its huge maw. "We joined with our Beast Spirits to save this world, and we did save it! What's wrong with that?!"

Davis took a step back, eyes wide.

"I don't care if I'm not human anymore, or if I can't be human anymore. It doesn't matter now what I used to be. I am the Legendary Warrior of Fire!"

The golden-maned dragon slammed a giant clawed forepaw onto the crimson floor and let out a gruesome screech. Flames swirled around the incredible beast, nearly scorching the DigiDestined and the two Timeless Beasts standing beside him. Seeing this, the demon wyrm startled and took two heavy steps back, blue eyes enlarged.

The humanoid Legendary Warriors gathered in a tighter circle around the DigiDestined.

"Why…Why are you acting like we're monsters?" half-snarled AncientGarurumon, his beastly voice giving way to Kouji's. "We digivolved into you and the Beast Spirits back when we first came to the Digital World. Now we've become Digimon for the Digital World again. It's just permanent this time. We're not going to hurt you! We're still us!"

"Yeah, that's right!" added AncientMegatherium, his deep voice reverting to Tommy's high-pitched one in mid-sentence. "Digimon and humans aren't so different anyway. Who cares if we're human or Digimon? It doesn't matter, not really."

"I was weak as a human," AncientSphinxmon, his cool rumbling voice becoming Kouichi's. "I remember that, if nothing else. But I don't want to remember anything about that other form, that weaker self."

"We weren't worth anything to the real world as humans," said AncientBeetmon, the bottom host's croaky voice turning into JP's. "No one needed us there like they do here. We're better off as Digimon."

"That world wouldn't let us be ourselves," stated AncientIrismon, her strangely melodic voice changing into Zoë's. "It laughed at us for caring about others, like friends weren't important. You can't help others without being considered nosy, and you can't ask for help yourself without being considered childish. Childish…why is it so wrong to be a kid? I bet we can run our world better than the adults rule theirs!"

"I…I wanted to show them that we were different, that we weren't like them anymore," growled AncientGreymon, Takuya's voice growing lower and rougher. "…That we were stronger than those scared and selfish humans, that we wouldn't let them pick on us or our friends for our morals. But…something kept stopping me from showing my real power to them, caused it to backlash on me. It wasn't until I came back here that I could be my true self."

"But this isn't your true self!" barked Agnimon, locking his blue eyes with the blue eyes of the demon dragon. "The Takuya I know would never say that! He would never run away! He would try to make those other people understand!"

"I am Takuya!" roared the red beast.

"I thought you said your name was AncientGreymon," replied the scarlet-armored flame warrior, smirking slightly.

The masked devil wyrm snarled lowly.

"…No, this isn't you, Takuya," continued the humanoid Legendary Warrior of Fire, stepping forward. "The real Takuya doesn't worry about what others think of him. He just tries to help anyone in trouble, even if they try to push him away. He wouldn't try to escape from his own world if there was something wrong with his world. He would try to save it."

"Kouji! Everyone! You don't have to pretend to be something you're not!" shouted Lobomon, also coming forth. "You've been forced into a role that was never supposed to be yours to bear. You have a right to be scared, to be yourselves."

"Who ever said anything about being scared?" responded AncientGarurumon, his voice fluxing between beast and child. "We knew this was going to happen! We're done with being scared!"

"Listen to us!" urged Kazemon, as she floated forward with her pale-lavender moth wings. "We were in your place long ago. To become the Timeless Beasts, we had to become one with the Beasts, just as you have. We had to share body and mind with them, to the point where we couldn't tell the difference between our thoughts and desires and theirs. That's what you're scared of, isn't it? You wanted to save the Digital World, but you still wanted to stay who you were."

"_Were_? Why do say _were_?"demanded AncientIrismon, her voice warping."I'm still Zoë! I just look different, that's all! And I'm made of data instead of flesh! That's it!"

"No, you don't want this," answered Kumamon, the bear of snow and ice looking unusually serious as his tiny form approached the incredible Megas. "It only worked for us because we were willing to give up most of our free will in exchange for the power to overthrow Lucemon. Before we died and became separate in Spirit form, we lost of lot of ourselves. That's one reason we took so long to finally start talking to you guys."

"…Lost yourselves…" AncientMegatherium murmured to himself in an almost childish voice, long braids swaying from side to side. "I can't…won't…"

"You might be going on about you're stronger now and the real world isn't as good as the Digital World, but you want to go back, don't you?" asked Beetlemon, the humanoid blue insect drawing closer. "You want to be human again. Even now, you can't tell what's part of your past and what's not, can you? Can't tell what makes you human and what makes you a Digimon."

"No, that's not…true…" hissed AncientBeetmon, the top part of the insect turning away even though it could see nothing. "To be a Digimon…is…To be a human…is…"

"You don't want to assimilate with the Beasts," stated Lowemon, the soldier in dark lion armor treading forth. "The mind of a human is very different from that of a Digimon. It wants to keep its individuality, and it doesn't want to be controlled by another force. This kind of digivolution…it's not meant for humans."

"But we did it for the Digital World, like you guys did so long ago," protested AncientSphinxmon, gilded wings quivering. "Isn't…isn't that worth it? Compared to the whole Digital World, we're…we're…"

"No, you guys are important! As humans!" yelled Agnimon, creating a brief stream of fire when he thrusted his arm to the side. "Why are you guys ashamed of being human? We chose you back then because no Digimon was worthy! If you don't like how the real world works, then go back and change it! You can do that, because of who you are as humans!"

"I am…Takuya…" AncientGreymon began, the devil dragon shaking his head and his voice distorting wildly. "I am…AncientGreymon…I am…the Legendary Warrior of Fire…I am…the protector…I am…I…am…"

The Timeless Beast looked down at the shiny red floor, and happened to see a massive scarlet demon wyrm gazing back at him.

The golden-maned dragon let out a shrill screech that made the walls shake, causing dust to rain on the red floor. One by one the other Timeless Beasts began to scream as well, their voices torn between beast and child. The DigiDestined and their Digimon had to cover their ears for all the deafening cries. The humanoid Legendary Warriors watched them somberly.

"You children…" Lobomon began.

AncientGarurumon stopped his terrible howl and looked down to his human-like counterpart.

"…How can you still call us children?" the scarlet-eyed knight with the unmovable wolf's face asked in Kouji's small voice. "We're nothing but monsters now. We can't be kids anymore, even if we were dedigivolved. We're just…"

Lobomon held his arms straight out. So did the other humanoid warriors.

"Beasts," the scarf-bearing warrior began. "You can see that you're only hurting these children, can't you? I know you had the best intentions, but…"

The Timeless Beasts grew calmer and solemn. AncientGarurumon nodded with no words.

"That's why we want to make a proposal to you," the Legendary Warrior of Light added, looking straight at the Timeless Beasts. "I know you that you cannot reach these forms without another, and that these forms are needed for remaking the Digital World. But these children are unsuitable hosts for you. So take our bodies instead, as it was done long ago, and leave these children in peace."

"Lobomon…" Kari began.

"Trust us," spoke Agnimon, looking back at the DigiDestined and smiling. "This is how it's supposed to be."

The Timeless Beasts were silent for a moment.

"…Very well," spoke AncientGreymon in its deep voice, bowing his head. "We accept your proposal. However…"

IIIIII

When Takuya came to on the dust-dulled crimson floor, he felt as weak as a newborn. A girl with caramel hair hovered over him, looking greatly reassured.

"Oh Takuya, you're allright! Thank God!"

He sat up and rubbed his forehead, his warm yet not burning forehead. Lifting up his hand up a bit more, he felt his usual hat and goggles on his head.

"I'm…alive?" he murmured to himself in astonishment, before turning to the girl beside him. "Uh…do I know you?"

"Oh yeah, I never did get around to explaining that, did I?" she stated, rubbing the back of her head and laughing a little. "I'm Ms. Kamiya."

"_What_? N-No way!" exclaimed Takuya, eyes wide.

"Believe it," he heard Terriermon say, as the brunette looked up to see a blonde boy his age standing over the other side of them. "It's kinda complicated, but ah…let's just say adults get shrunk when they come to the Digital World and leave it at that, okay?"

"Right," Takuya replied, smiling. His head was too much of a whirl right now as things were. A grateful whirl, but still a whirl.

The goggle-bearer couldn't help but stare at everything in the Moloch Chamber, as if he had never seen it before. The purple paint, the grimy red floor, the scorched gilded chairs…they all seemed so strange to him. The other children were already up and about, wandering along the outer edges of the room in a daze similar to his. Nearer to the center was a chocolate-haired child with goggles that he didn't recognize, cheerfully chatting away with an especially confused Kouichi. That must have been Davis, he realized. He sure acted like the noodle-cart master.

Then his breath caught. There in the middle of the room were six great beasts. They were watching the children, but they did not move toward them. The masked golden-maned dragon kept a steady gaze on him.

_The Beast Spirits…no, not just them…the Human-type Spirits too…that's right…they gave themselves to them…to save us…_

Abruptly the six beasts departed, breaking through the shell of the ceiling and into the outside world waiting to be reborn. More dust fell upon the floor and the occupants.

Takuya got up and started to slowly move to the center of the Moloch Chamber, where his other saved friends also approached. They said nothing to him, and he could think of nothing to say to them. He could understand the silence. He himself could hardly believe that they were alive even after everything their bodies had been through. It was amazing that they could walk in the first place, much less without pain or thoughts that weren't theirs. He touched the goggles on top of his hat for reassurance that this was real.

The Digimon of the DigiDestined were hurriedly carrying off all the items that they had thrown in the middle of the room. There went Tommy's toy robots, there went JP's deck of cards, there went his old hat and goggles…

He froze mid-step. His old hat and goggles…

"…Takuya?" asked Kari, walking over to the stopped boy with a worried expression.

He bent down and wiped away some of the pale dirt the floor with his hand, making it shiny red again. In the reflection everything looked normal, even his warm brown eyes. Still he looked. He heard some puzzled murmurings from the other children.

"Ms. Kamiya," he began, still studying his double in the scarlet floor. "How did we survive?"

"…The human-type Spirits gave their bodies to the Beast Spirits so they would release you," she explained solemnly.

Takuya stayed silent as he placed one hand on the cold crimson floor, as if he wanted to touch that other boy that was in the reflection. It was impossible, of course.

"Ms. Kamiya…when the merging began, when we first started to become one with the Beast Spirits, it felt like I was being gutted alive," the grim gogglehead started to say, brown eyes still on the glistening scarlet floor. "For all I know, I probably was. All that power ripping me apart over the months, all that energy tearing through me, all the exhaustion…"

"Takuya…"

"…My body becoming numb, not being able to breathe, not able to feel my own heartbeat in my chest, even though I stood and walked and talked…then the incineration as I took the form of the Timeless Beast AncientGreymon…and yet here I am, standing here as if nothing happened to me…How could I have survived something like that, without a single scratch?"

Kari was silent.

The brown-haired boy narrowed his eyes.

"…I didn't, did I?"

The eyes in the red mirror went from warm brown to blazing orange. A small fireball formed between him and the reflection, blotting out that other Takuya bathed in the glistening scarlet.

The other kids let out exclamations of surprise. He did not have to look up to know that they were testing their abilities and succeeding in summoning their own elements.

"So…what really happened?"

Kari looked away.

"…It's true that the human-type Spirits surrendered themselves to the Beast Spirits to free you," Willis explained, as Lopmon hopped onto one of his shoulders. "But by then your bodies had already been consumed by the energy of the transformation. And even if they hadn't been, they would have been damaged beyond living requirements. So the Timeless Beasts gave up some of their own data to form new bodies for you."

"…Does that make us Digimon?" asked Kouji, watching the small orb of white light he had beckoned to his right hand.

"Not necessarily," answered the fair-haired child, unconsciously massaging one of Lopmon's long drooping ears. "Just because something or someone is made of data doesn't mean that something or someone is a Digimon, even if that data originally came from a Digimon. It's your choice. If you want to carry on a human life, you can. If you want to become a Digimon, that's possible too. It looks like you've inherited the powers of the Timeless Beasts through your data."

Kouichi manipulated a murky snake of darkness before him into a misty black butterfly.

"But even if we go back to the real world, that still means…"

"No, we're still human," interrupted Takuya, snuffing out the tiny flame with a simple grabbing motion and causing his likeness in the red floor to return to him. "We may not be human in body, but we've still got human souls. That's what counts."

He turned to Kari with a childish grin.

"Right, Ms. Kamiya?"

After a few moments, the caramel-haired girl nodded and smiled back.

"C'mon, let's hurry up and go home," spoke the goggle-bearer, his eyes cooling to warm brown again. "Ah crap, I still have that report to do..."

IIIIII

Kari Kamiya was walking down the sidewalk, a responsible adult with her white feline by her side, when she saw him, Takuya Kanbara.

She had seen him many times since that day, both in high school and otherwise. They even talked a lot, usually chattering away about the silliest things. Now the brunette boy with the purple baseball cap and blue-grey tinted goggles was passing by her as she strolled, headphones nested in his ears. He noticed her and gave a cheerful grin and a quick wave. That was all.

The caramel-haired woman and her purple-striped cat paused to watch him walk away, saying nothing. Anything spoken would have been left unheard by the child, because of all the music being poured into his ears. What the voices of the song were serenading him with, the teacher had no idea, for she could hear nothing of the melody. He did not turn back to look at her.

Then his friends came from the other end of the sidewalk, laughing and carrying on about school, videogames, and some movie tickets JP had just bought for them to see some action flick together. Takuya plucked the headphones out of his ears and began to chatter away with them, his warm brown eyes merry. They started to walk away from Kari's sight, enclosed securely in their own little world. When Zoë asked Takuya what he was listening to, he handed over the headphones and CD player so she could hear the tune for herself. None of them noticed Kari.

The caramel-haired teacher stood there quietly, even after the children could no longer be seen.

"Just ordinary kids," Gatomon spoke, smiling serenely. "They're still like ordinary kids, even after all that."

"Yeah," answered her human companion, as she turned around to walk her own way. "Because that is what they want to be, Gatomon. And now they have that choice."

Kari looked up to the sky. It was so bright and blue today. Even now she could hear their nymph-like laughter in her ears.

_Ordinary children…the strongest and bravest of us all, those ordinary children._

IIIIII

_Whew…what a trip. But it was so worth it XD_

_I must thank you all for putting up with my erratic updates and sticking with this story right to the end. If it wasn't for you guys I might still be stuck on chapter 5. In a next few days I'll probably be re-uploading all the chapters to fix minor errors in grammar, spelling, and plot. This is more to make the first five chapters flow more smoothly into the latter half than anything else._

_Now for the random advertisement section:_

_Those of you who need a break from all the Frontier drama should go look up the Frontier AMV __**Du Doof **__on youtube. Slightly odd subtitles aside, it's a fun video._

_For those of you into Willis (notably you, dragonsunlight), you should check out the story __**Peregrine**__ by __**DarkSakura IIDX. **__It has excellent description, handles Willis well, and even has well-done human OCs. Of course some of you might already know about this fic since it's old (finished in 2004), but those interested should check it out! _

_Also for you Davis fans I recommend the story __**Little Dragon **__by __**Kaeera**__. It's sad but does Davis a lot of justice that he often doesn't get. Valid gripes about his stupidity aside, who wouldn't want someone like Davis for a friend?_

_Again thank you all! Goodbye!_


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